Hazlewood front runner for pace spots in Aussie squeeze

Having played more T20 games in the past six months than he had in the previous six years, Josh Hazlewood's "perfect" lead-in to Australia's World Cup campaign has created a selection squeeze for their tournament opener against South Africa on Saturday.

Amidst Australia's interrupted preparation for the tournament, Hazlewood has emerged as a rare source of comfort for selectors having helped the Chennai Super Kings to their fourth Indian Premier League title last weekend.

With conditions in the UAE set to favour slow bowling and spin duo Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa a key part of Australia's T20 line-up, it may leave room for just two frontline quicks, which would mean at least one of star trio Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc and Hazlewood are left out of the side.

Cummins, who arrived late to the UAE following the birth of his first child, will miss Australia's warm-up match against New Zealand early Tuesday morning (1am AEDT, Kayo Sports) and may only have one training session before their second warm-up game, against India on Wednesday night (8.30pm AEDT, Kayo Sports).

The 28-year-old has missed Australia's past 18 T20s and not played any cricket for nearly six months, meaning he'll be underdone compared to the other fast bowlers in the squad.

Having led Australia's attack on their winter tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh, Starc is free to play both warm-up games this week alongside Kane Richardson, who has played just a single one-day game since April, and Hazlewood, who is undoubtedly the most battle-hardened of the pace quartet.

A star at Test and one-day international level, Hazlewood had played just eight T20s for his country in the seven-and-a-half years between his debut in 2013 and last year's tour of England.

He'd also been rarely sighted in T20 franchise competitions as he prioritised the longer formats, and conceded last year that he was unlikely to win a spot in Australia's squad for the 2020 T20 World Cup, which was ultimately postponed due to the pandemic.

Since then, however, he's played 22 T20 matches for club and country and was a key source of wickets in a star-studded Chennai side in the past month, playing nine games in the second half of the tournament alongside the likes of MS Dhoni, Faf du Plessis and Dwayne Bravo.

The 30-year-old said he opted to return to the IPL – while Cummins, Starc and Richardson remained at home – to give himself the best chance of making Australia's World Cup side.

"That was my thinking going in," Hazlewood said having linked up with the national squad in Abu Dhabi.

"Conditions, the elements here – it's quite hot – and just getting a run of games of T20 cricket leading into the World Cup. It's been perfect."

Australia will use this week's warm-up matches to finalise their team structure for the Proteas clash, with selectors yet to confirm if they will pick five frontline bowlers – meaning Agar would bat at No.7 – or just four bowlers and opt for an extra batting option.

Complicating matters is the fitness of allrounder Marcus Stoinis, who is back bowling in the nets after suffering a hamstring injury but played as a batter only in his most recent game, for Delhi last Wednesday.

Should Stoinis be fully fit, selectors would be more likely to pick just four bowlers given they would have three allrounders – Stoinis, Mitch Marsh and Glenn Maxwell – in the top six to share the bowling load.

The Australians picked five bowlers in their T20 winning streak in 2019-20 that steered them to the No.1 ranking in the world, but reverted to a four-man attack at times on their recent winter tours.

"The six batsmen and five specialist bowlers, it's certainly a model I've gone with throughout my whole head coaching career … and it's been a very successful model," coach Justin Langer earlier this year.

"But if you look ahead … we might look at this 7-4 model, where you have a couple of allrounders. Different teams do it differently around the world.

"We're going to play on some pretty worn wickets, especially towards the back end of the World Cup.

"We might have to find different ways of winning our games."

If conditions demand it, there's also the possibility of Australia picking three frontline spinners – Agar, Zampa and Mitch Swepson – while Richardson's skillset differs to the other pace bowlers and he should be well suited to the dry surfaces in the desert.

"I think spin will play a huge factor and we've got some quality options," Richardson said last week. "Then I need to fight it out with the other quicks who are all high quality, so it won't be an easy team to make. If I do get selected, I think conditions should work in favour of what I have in my arsenal."

For Hazlewood, simply having the opportunity to play 20-over cricket has allowed him to unlock his potential in the shortest format, just at the right time.

"I feel pretty confident in my role now," he said. "It's pretty similar role whether it's for Chennai or Australia – a couple (of overs) up front and then a couple at the end. So (I'm) feeling more confident with every situation I'm in.

"You never can dominate T20 cricket as a bowler, I don't think. There's just so many different elements. But I'm feeling good about my game."

2021 Men's T20 World Cup

Australia's squad

Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserves: Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams

Australia's matches

Oct 23v South Africa in Abu Dhabi (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

Oct 28v Qualifier A1 in Dubai (6pm local time, 1am Oct 29 AEDT)

Oct 30v England in Dubai (6pm local time, 1am Oct 31 AEDT)

Nov 4v Qualifier B2 in Dubai (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

Nov 6v West Indies in Abu Dhabi (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2021 ICC T20 WORLD CUP SCHEDULE

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SQUADS FOR ALL 16 TEAMS

How the teams are grouped

Round 1

Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia

Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Oman

Super 12s

Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1, B2

Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, B1, A2