Image Credit- CA
Although Josh Hazlewood, an Australian veteran, feels that Jake Fraser-McGurk’s time will come in Australian colours, he bemoaned the lack of space in Australia’s 15-man T20 World Cup squad for both him and Steven Smith. Hazlewood also acknowledged that Smith’s leadership and experience will be greatly missed in the Caribbean.
Last week, the Australian selectors created a stir when they excluded Smith and Fraser-McGurk from the team. The Australian public, who were angry that the 22-year-old T20 sensation had been ignored despite his incredible IPL performance, responded strongly.
In preparation for the T20 World Cup, Hazlewood and other members of Australia’s non-IPL squad, including injured captain Mitchell Marsh, convened in Brisbane on Monday for the first of two three-day camps that will take place over the following two weeks.
Despite acknowledging Fraser-McGurk’s unique talent, he expressed empathy for the Australian selectors, considering the depth of quality on the team.
“The way he goes about it is quite special, just the ball striking,” Hazlewood said.
“Where do you fit him in? It’s so tough to fit into that top order with what we’ve got there with experience with Travis [Head], Mitch [Marsh] and Davey [Warner] in the top three, and then the middle order’s pretty good as well.
“He’ll definitely get his time. He’s only young. He’ll be in the team sooner rather than later, I think.”
Having been a very sought-after bowler in prior years, Hazlewood has missed this year’s IPL. Due to his limited availability—he wanted to be at home for his son’s birth during the early stages of the tournament—he was not picked up at the auction. During his stay at home, he continued to bowl in the hopes of being called up to replace an injured player in the Indian Premier League, but that opportunity never materialised.
However, he is not a fan of the Impact Player rule and has discreetly expressed his satisfaction at missing the carnage that bowlers have endured in the IPL.
“Batting line-ups seem to be never-ending now, I’m not sure it’s a great rule,” Hazlewood said.
“You’ve got guys like Tim David at number eight, sometimes number nine, and it just sort of seems never-ending and you don’t really feel like to attack and try and get wickets in the powerplay because what’s the point when you got those guys coming in at those eight and nine spots.
“It’s an interesting rule. Obviously, the crowd loves it. There are 200-plus scores every night and it’s good for batters but might need a bit of tinkering.”