Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri compared Josha Hazlewood to the Bowling Great Glenn McGrath before the World Test Championship (WTC) against South Africa in Lord’s. Shastri also said that Hazlewood should be selected in front of Scott Boland to complete the Australian bowling attack along with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Spinner Nathan Lyon for the WTC finals.
Hazlewood was forced to miss Three out of five tests in the recent Trophy Border-Gavascar match against India, as well as the Australian tour in Sri Lanka and ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 at the beginning of this year, for concerns about the calf.
The 34-year-old, however, returned to a competitive cricket in the Premier League, Indian, looking for a good shape for Royal Challengers Bengalur and took 16 goals in the first nine trips.
While Shastri has long been admired by Boland, former India coach believes that the Lord’s conditions are more suitable for Hazlewood’s line and length. “It will be a very difficult choice, but if Hazelwood is fit, then it gets in front of Boland,” said Shastri for the ICC Review.
“If Hazlewood is eligible for it, he will nod for two reasons. One, English conditions, two, Lord’s with a slope,” he said.
“And the reason I say that Lord’s slope is Hazlewood is most compared to Glenn McGrath. And you just have to check the record of Glenn McGratha on Lord’s, with a slope and bowling from the end of the comment.
McGrath, one of the highest giants, took 26 goals in three tests on Lord’s, including the best characters of 8/38 in the second Australian tour of England and Scotland from 1997.
“He (McGrath) could have been mortal with the ball either the seams back or out of both ends to be honest, and I think Hazlewood can do something similar to his height,” Shastri said when he compared Hazlewood with the former Australian naval McGrath.
“The playgrounds are not as fast as in Australia. So you need the extra piece of height and reflection that it gets, unlike Scott Boland, even though I’m a big Scott Boland fan.”
Published:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
April 26, 2025
