Australian pacer Josh Hazelwood revealed that Australia would be pleased to lose some over on Day 4 and Day 5 of the crucial fourth test in Manchester as the weather could be defining moment of this high-octane Ashes series in England as the away team is completely outplayed in first three days of the crucial game in England.
Speaking to the media after the end of Day 3’s play, Josh Hazelwood said that they would be happy if they are few stoppages in play due to rain and light and reckons that Aussies would be happy to lose few overs in the game due to the rain as it helps the team hang in better in the middle.
“I’d be very pleased. It’s obviously forecast but forecasts can change all the time. Obviously, rain and light play a big part in cricket and have been done forever. So, yeah, it’d be great to lose a few overs here and there, and make our job a little easier if I’m hanging in there,” Josh Hazelwood said.
Hazelwood was the pickup of the bowler in the 1st innings of the 4th test as he picked up 5 wickets with other bowlers going for the hefty runs.
The 32-year-old has not played any cricket since he sustained an Achilles injury during the SCG Test in January, made a comeback into the Australian team for the 1st Ashes test, and played a vital role in the team’s victory in the first two games of the high-pressure Ashes series.
I Thought We Did Reasonably Well – Josh Hazelwood On Australia’s Bowling Approach
Josh Hazelwood believes that the bowling unit has done reasonably well at the stop the scoring rate of attacking English batters as they tried to take bowl for the arc of the batters and revealed that he tried to stop the scoring rate by trying different things every two balls.
“Do you just bowl wide and down leg and stop him from scoring? Or do you try and roll the dice and bounce him and try and get a wicket that way, or keep bowling hard length and hopefully one goes up the chute? We saw probably a new tactic again today of running on bouncers or running through to the keeper”.
“It’s just trying to limit his scoring and [trying] different things to try with two balls left, one ball left, keeping the tailender on strike for next over and things like that, so I thought we did reasonably well,” Josh Hazelwood added.
England is well on top at the end of the Day 3 play, as the Australia team still trail by 162 runs in the 1st innings with only six wickets in hand and the Ben Stokes-led will look to come out hard on the Aussies batter on the crucial 4th day, as they are rain forecast for the next two days in Manchester.