Confident in how our game holds up in these conditions - Hazlewood

By Amindha de Alwis

Australian fast-bowler Josh Hazlewood said that his team will come into their multi-format tour of Sri Lanka carrying significantly more confidence in handling sub-continental conditions than was present during their previous tour of the island in 2016.

“Coming here last time was, for a lot of the guys, their first if not second or third subcontinent tour. We were still quite young and inexperienced at that stage. I think we have got some experience right now. We are a lot more confident I guess in how our game holds up in these conditions, whatever format, in particular the Tests. The Test team has played a lot together in the subcontinent so I would say the confidence and experience is a lot higher than last time,” he expressed.

Australia suffered a 3-0 whitewash on the Test leg of their 2016 tour but had more success in the limited-over formats, winning the ODIs 4-1 and the T20I series 2-0.

The 31-year-old mentioned that the surfaces dished up in 2016 were probably the most spin-friendly ones he had ever encountered, and that adjusting to the conditions, including the heat, will be among the challenges up ahead.

“They were probably the most spinning wickets I have played on in my career. I certainly didn’t have much of an impact, particularly towards the end. We played at different grounds and the wickets were a little bit different all the time, but I remember here in Colombo, being first of all very hot and sweaty, but it took quite a bit of turn as well. So yeah, a few different challenges,” Hazlewood said.

He further added that his role in the side, particularly in the Test matches, would likely be that of a holding bowler, in conditions where spinners would take the attacking role.

“You have got to stick to your strengths on these wickets. It is about bowling accurate for me, and I do not have the air-speed of Pat (Cummins) and Mitch (Starc) who can blast batters out at any stage of the game. It is about building pressure, and I guess I become the holding bowling and the spinner becomes the attacking bowler. So, we sort of switch roles as opposed to what we do in Australia,” Hazlewood elaborated.

The fast-bowler is coming off a two-month stint in the Indian Premier League where he and Glenn Maxwell were teammates for the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise alongside Sri Lanka’s lead white-ball spinner Wanindu Hasaranga. Hasaranga enjoyed a successful tournament, where he finished second on the list of highest wicket-takers, and Hazlewood revealed that they had been keeping a close eye on his bowling.

“Maxi (Maxwell) was at RCB as well, so yeah, we had a close look at him. Maxi had probably a closer idea than me, with me being a bowler. But he (Hasaranga) obviously was a great player for us. Big wicket-taker throughout the whole tournament, so he obviously is a danger for the next few weeks,” he said.