Ahead of the Test series against India in February-March, Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood has said heading in with three quicks seems enough for the visitors and that adding another one won’t help the cause much.
After Australia were whitewashed 4-0 in their last outing 2013, the world champions wouldn’t want to leave any stone unturned this time around, in order to change their horrific looking equation in sub-continent of 12 consecutive losses in past four years.
Hazlewood, who will be touring sub-continent for the second time after Sri Lanka tour last year, believes the conditions in India won’t assist the pacers for long. Speaking to Cricket Australia, the medium pacer said even the history doesn’t suggest an addition of an extra pacer in their squad, claiming the idea hasn’t fetched Australia better results over the years.
“I think three’s plenty for a tour of India. There hasn’t been many quicks go there and be successful.”
Talking about Australia’s perhaps most ferocious bowler Mitchell Starc, Hazlewood said the way he (Starc) bowled in Sri Lanka was exceptional, and that he along with Jackson Bird would try and stick to bowl around the same line and length in India too.
However, during the 2016 tour to Sri Lanka, the left-arm pacer took 24 wickets in three matches but still couldn’t avoid his side going down in each of them.
“I think we can take something out of Starcy (Mitchell Starc) bowled in Sri Lanka on similar wickets. He sorts of takes the pitch out of equation sometimes with how full and fast he bowls.”
In the ongoing ODI series against Pakistan, Hazlewood was rested for the first One-Dayer which Australia won but later came back in the second at the MCG. He went wicket-less in his quota of ten overs.
Pakistan squared the five-match series with a six-wicket win over there, and will now face the hosts for the third One-Dayer at WACA on Thursday (January 19).