Josh Hazlewood hopeful of getting fit for World Test Championship Final

FORMBY: Experienced Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood is hopeful of getting fit for the World Test Championship final against India at the Oval next month and working hard in the practice sessions.

Hazlewood has been battling a side issue in recent times and had to cut short his time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier this month when the injury flared up.

But Hazlewood has returned to full training and was bowling at ‘close to full pace’ when Australia enjoyed a training session at Formby Cricket Club in England’s north on Tuesday in preparation for the one-off Test against India at The Oval that commences on June 7.

The session at the picturesque ground here was just the second time the 32-year-old pacer had rolled his arm over since arriving in England last week and the 32-year-old is confident he will be fit to feature in Australia’s XI for the upcoming Test against India.

“My fitness is pretty good and it is just a matter of ticking off every session from here until that date (June 7) basically. We will probably have anywhere from three to four more sessions - bat versus ball and then a couple of longer days in the nets as well or centre wicket down in London - so it is just ticking off those last few boxes and pulling up well from every session,” Hazlewood was quoted as saying by ICC.

“It was pretty close (to full pace today). I came down for a little bowl yesterday just to loosen up and to get a bit more out of today’s session, so it is feeling good.

After a long few travel days it is always a case of the first one getting the cobwebs out and stretching out and doing some run-throughs just to get the blood flowing. It is always good to get the first one out of the way and when we get to London we will steam in,” he added.

The side issue Hazlewood is attempting to overcome isn’t the only concern the tall quick has been battling in 2023, with the right-arm pacer also picking up an Achilles injury during the third Test against South Africa at the SCG at the start of the year.

It meant Hazlewood failed to feature during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in India in February and March and only returned to the bowling crease with three matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore at the IPL.

While Hazlewood only bowled nine overs during his stint in the domestic Indian league, the veteran seamer said the fact he was in T20 mode and trying to utilise so many different types of deliveries may have led to his side issue.

“In T20 you are bowling a lot of various different balls every over,” Hazlewood noted.

“A wide yorker, to a bouncer, to a slower ball and it probably got jammed up a little bit and a bit of scar tissue from previous injuries flared up. It calmed down pretty quickly, I had a week off but I didn’t quite get back to going 100 percent at IPL. But the last few bowls have been good and I have been building up nicely,” he added. IANS

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