Josh reveals Twenty20 vision
Speedster Josh Hazlewood wants to crack on across all formats for Australia as stars heed legend Ricky Ponting’s call to fix an embarrassing T20 ranking.
Australia’s seventh ICC T20 status doesn’t sit well with Ponting, the national assistant coach.
Ponting said Australia could have to restructure its approach to T20 to improve ahead of a home World Twenty20 Cup in 2020 and Hazelwood is keen to play his part.
“You always want to play for Australia in any format,” Hazlewood said ahead of the Australia Day one-day clash against England in Adelaide.
“Hopefully I can a crack it at T20 cricket and one-day.”
Retaining a core group, continuity in leadership and fielding its best talent more often would boost an Australian T20 side that “hasn’t performed anywhere near expectations”, Ponting said.
Hazlewood’s last T20 international, like official T20 skipper Steve Smith, was against India in Mohali during March 2016. Spearhead Mitchell Starc’s last T20 for Australia was against Sri Lanka in Colombo in September 2016.
Hazlewood is pivotal across the Test and one-day arenas for Australia with 139 Test wickets at 25 and 66 50-over wickets at 24 but the towering seamer acknowledges the balancing act selectors face.
“I think we have seen with T20 scheduling there has been a lot of debate with things overlapping,” he said.
“I have played two or three T20 games in the last four or five years and that was in the T20 World Cup. You would love to play but again, you can’t play everything with things on at the same time.”
David Warner is the only member of a 15-man South Africa Test squad to front England and New Zealand in next month’s T20 tri-series.
Australia has endured its first home one-day series defeat in seven years against England’s 50-over “specialists’’.
Smith’s one-day side has lost 10 of 11 completed games and Hazlewood said avoiding a 5-0 whitewash against the Old Enemy is first priority.
“It’s obviously Australia Day and there’s the new stadium in Perth so there is plenty to play for,” he said.