Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood is confident he will be ready for the start of Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign in Sri Lanka next month, despite a string of recent injuries that have ruled him out of the Ashes series and disrupted his preparation.
Hazlewood missed the start of the England series with a hamstring strain and later suffered an Achilles problem during his rehabilitation.
As a result, he will not feature in the latter stages of the Big Bash League, where he is on the Sydney Sixers’ sub-list, or the T20Is against Pakistan in late January.
However, he is aiming to take part in a warm-up game ahead of the World Cup, which begins with Australia facing Ireland on February 11.
Chairman of selectors George Bailey had hinted at the possibility of giving Pat Cummins extra time if needed, but Australia cannot afford to carry only one player at the start of the tournament.
“Everything is going to plan,” Hazlewood said. “We took a few extra weeks off after not being able to play in the Tests. Last week I had two bowls in half a run. The running is going well, all the strength work is going well, so, yes, it’s on track.”
Hazlewood’s injury struggles have been well documented.
Since the 2020–21 season, he has completed just one home summer without injury, including an unbroken ten-Test stretch in the middle of the 2023 Ashes and the start of the 2024–25 series against India, before calf and side strains interrupted his run.
Earlier, he had endured four Test matches in a month in the World Test Championship final and the series in the West Indies.
The fast bowler has worked closely with the medical staff to explore possible recurring factors behind his injuries, particularly side strains.
Unfortunately he attributed it to his recent hamstring strain, while an Achilles issue has been linked to ongoing ankle nicks.
“My gym work is mostly the same, but from a bowling workload perspective, we try to change things up a bit leading up to the next red-ball game,” Hazlewood explained.
Before the injuries, Hazlewood was in prime form during Australia’s white-ball series against India in October.
He picked up a hamstring strain after bowling three consecutive days in the Sheffield Shield match against Victoria at the SCG. He may adjust his training approach ahead of red-ball cricket, preparing for the Test matches against Bangladesh in August.
“Sometimes when one thing goes away, another one pops back up,” Hazlewood said of his back injuries. “The ankle is something I’ve been managing for the last few years. When you start again, sometimes your body doesn’t like to stop and start again. We execute the training a bit differently, maybe bowl two or three days in a row, then take four or five days off.
After the T20 World Cup, Hazlewood will play for the defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.
Later in the year, Australia face a packed Test schedule, with up to 21 Tests in 11 months, including key series in India and England.
Hazlewood said that while the upcoming five-Test series in India could provide opportunities for the bowlers to rest and rotate, the uncertainty of the workload made it difficult to plan too far ahead.
“With white-ball cricket, you can map things out because you know your overs, but Test cricket is different,” he said. “Once the matches start you play it by ear. The first hurdle is the hardest – if you get past that, things can go on, but playing too many in a row will allow weaknesses to creep in.”
Hazlewood, who turned 35 in early January, joked about his position in attack.
“I feel young in that attack but I am realistic. You have to realize when to sit someone to stay fresh for big games,” he concluded.