Josh Hazlewood is an exclusive club man in the land down under after taking his first five-wicket haul in the ongoing Test match against Bangladesh in Darwin. The right-arm paceman reached the milestone of 300 wickets in his 125th Test appearance and became the ninth Australian bowler in the 300-wicket club.
Hazlewood joined the 300-wicket club on day three of the opening Test match against Bangladesh. He claimed his 300th and 301st wickets in the same over to join the likes of Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc. Australia currently has four Test bowlers with over 300 wickets in Cummins, Lyon, Starc, and Hazlewood. The Aussies are the first team to have a quartet of bowling stars with more than 300 Test wickets each.
Josh Hazlewood joins Australia's bowling legends
Among Australia's nine 300-wicket Test bowlers, Hazlewood's average of 24.02 is the fourth best. Only Glenn McGrath (21.64), Pat Cummins (22.21) and Dennis Lillee (23.92) have a better average per dismissal.
Josh Hazlewood's thoughts on reaching the 300-wicket mark were mixed, as he didn't think about such achievements in the thick of the game, but was delighted to be able to achieve what the likes of McGrath and Cummins have done in their careers.
“You don't think about those sort of milestones when you're out there; I guess it's something you maybe think about when you retire.”
“But I guess just to see the other names there, and I'm playing with three of them, so yeah, it's pretty cool,” he said when talking to Kayo Sports.
Josh Hazlewood wasn't the first pick for the XI when the Test match started, and there was reason to doubt his spot in the side. The 35-year-old needed five wickets to get to the 300-mark, but had only played six out of the previous 14 Tests. A year spent on the sidelines with various injuries left his place in the team in doubt, as Scott Boland was his main competition for a spot.
Hazlewood answered the question of whether he belongs in the XI in the best possible way. The seamer bowled consistently well when Australia needed him to trouble Bangladesh's batters, who were looking to post a huge total on a good batting track.
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Hazlewood had chances to pick up early wickets, with Nathan Lyon spilling a simple catch behind Tanzid Hasan at the non-striker's end in the third over of the innings. Hasan went on to make 101, with another reprieve coming on 0.
The right-armer then broke the stand between Tanzid and Mominul Haque, with Mominul Haque caught at slip trying to drive over the top on the second morning.
Hazlewood got the big wicket of Najmul Hossain Shanto with the second new ball to follow, troubling the tail-ender with his bounce and pace. He got another as Mahmudullah Riyad fell in front of Hazlewood for 54 after being reprieved at slip when Hazlewood had Mehidy Hasan lbw. The bowler then got the important wicket of Hasan Mahmud with an extra bounce to end the innings, with Taijul Islam following soon after, edging the bowler into Cameron Green at gully.
After lunch, Josh Hazlewood removed Mehidy Hasan lbw as the spinner tried to drive over the top to complete a five-wicket haul, and with it, reach 300 Test wickets.
The 35-year-old wasn't done, as he got his sixth wicket when Ebadot Hossain edged behind to complete his fourth six-wicket haul in a Test match, and first in nine years.
Hazlewood's achievement came on a surface where Bangladesh's batters frustrated Australia's attack
The visitors had to show a degree of patience, especially in the heat, as Bangladesh showed little appetite for losing wickets cheaply.
“Hang on there,” Hazlewood said. “It's pretty hard work on that track. We probably hung on there, didn't score too many runs towards the end. “It was just that Bangladesh were hanging in there really well, and it was just hard to get wickets, so it was a good effort.”
For Hazlewood, though, it was about more than just the match.
After all, he has battled a succession of injuries in recent months, and has now added another landmark to his name. “It's pretty special,” he said of passing 300 Test wickets on his 55th birthday.
“It means a lot, it's another mountain to climb to get to the next one.
“It is pretty special to be part of something with the likes of Nathan, Josh, and Mitch, to be part of something so special in Australian Test cricket.”