Much like life, perception plays a huge role in the game of cricket as well. For instance, if you are asked to name a few top T20 bowlers of all time, you will immediately think of the Lasith Malingas, the Sunil Narines or the Jasprit Bumrahs. In this 'hit out or get out' format, unpredictability and variations are the keys to success for a bowler, right?
Well, if you believe in this well-accepted theory then a certain Aussie old-school fast bowler would like to have a word or two with you. And following his heroics for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Tuesday night, it is not very difficult to imagine who is being referred here.
We are indeed talking about Josh Hazlewood.
With 8 wickets in three matches at an average of 10.75 and with an economy of 7.16, the Australian fast bowler has emerged as the most effective overseas pacer in this season's Indian Premier League (IPL) so far. On these tailor-made bouncy pitches in Mumbai and Pune, he is taking wickets up-front with the new ball as well as being trusted to restrict the batters at the death. And so far with his performance, Hazlewood has justified every penny of the INR 7.75 cr RCB paid for him.
Due to international commitments, the 31-year old New South Wales pacer joined the IPL caravan a bit late this year but it did not take much time for him to make his presence felt. Hazlewood is already looking like an upgraded version of what we saw of him in Chennai Super Kings (CSK) colours in the UAE-leg of IPL last year — 11 wickets in 9 matches at 26.63 and economy of 8.37.
Hazlewood is not someone who would rack up crazy variations like Dwayne Bravo or Harshal Patel. He also doesn't possess the pace of Jofra Archer or Kagiso Rabada. You won't often see him putting additional effort to bowl a 'smell the leather' kind of bouncer. Instead, he is someone who would continue to hit the deck hard on his premeditated line and on that three-quarter length (also known as the Test match length in T20s) with pace close to the 140 kmph mark.
In a format where everyone expects you to be unpredictable, Hazlewood has done the smartest thing by being predictable. The hard lengths are likely to go for runs on wickets which don’t offer much assistance and even Hazlewood thought so before joining the CSK camp for the IPL back in 2020. Working with CSK coach Stephen Fleming and bowling consultant Eric Simons helped change that perception.
“Spending a bit of time at Chennai with Stephen Fleming and Eric Simons, just chatting about you know batters are probably expecting that," Hazlewood recently said this in a media interaction after bowling 15 dot balls in a T20 World Cup match against South Africa in Abu Dhabi last year.
“If you get hit for four or six they're probably expecting something different next ball. I think that it’s a little bit different here as well but they're expecting something different, so just keep doing the same thing and make them hit fours or sixes off your good deliveries, just above the stumps, a hard length."
That particular match was the start of Australia's victorious campaign in the tournament and with figures of 4-1-19-2, Hazlewood won the 'Player of the Match' award. Overall in seven matches of the competition, he had 11 scalps at 15.90 with an economy of 7.29.
Hazelwood’s outings in the T20 World Cup and a successful run with CSK proved that Test match lengths, when executed with perfection, can be more than handy in the 20-over format.
With his growing reputation as an all-format bowler, Hazlewood is open to adapt new traits. His recent exposure to international white-ball cricket as well as franchise-based T20 leagues around the world is now helping him to hone new skills like the leg-cutter and knuckle balls.
“Everyone wants to bowl those difficult overs and really nail them. That’s when you get put up in lights for things like the IPL. It’s good to be the man,” Hazlewood told cricket.com.au after RCB picked him up in the 2022 IPL auction.
"Just learning (from IPL) what to bowl at what times to what batters. I know it sounds reasonably simple, but I think doing that planning before the games and knowing who’s who, where their strengths are, and where to bowl [is crucial]. That probably gives you a little bit more leeway on execution — if you know where their weaknesses are and where their strengths are.”
And just like he applied his red-ball skills in T20 cricket, Hazlewood believes the experience he is gaining from this slam-bang format will help him evolve as a Test bowler as well.
“There’s certainly times within Test matches where your T20 bowling comes into play. The more T20 you play, the more confident you’re going to get in those change-ups."
From the perspective of Australian cricket, Hazlewood's success in white-ball ball formats is a huge plus point. In their much-celebrated pace trident, Mitchell Starc has gone past his prime and Pat Cummins is yet to be reliable as a T20 bowler. And with the T20 World Cup taking place at their own backward this year and a 50-over World Cup next year in India, the defending champions would rely heavily on the skills of Hazlewood 2.0, who has certainly emerged as their best in-form all-format bowler in recent years.
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