Hazlewood hails England’s ‘unbelievable’ batting prowess
As the arch-rivals prepare to lock horns in the Ashes Down Under, the Aussie pacer is looking forward to battling it out against the England batters.
Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood believes England will be arriving for the Ashes later this year with the best batting lineup that has toured Australia in recent times.
Speaking at an event to promote Play Cricket week, the seasoned pacer was all praise for England’s batting prowess, in particular Joe Root and Harry Brook, who are ranked first and second respectively in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings.
"England has obviously been quite flat wickets recently, the last few years, and it's been a really dry summer as well, so they are probably starting to get tired and spin now," Hazlewood said of England’s recent batting exploits in Tests.
"I think (Harry Brook) will adapt. He's a good player. He's at the top of the rankings for a reason, and he'll be a tough challenge.
"I think a fresh face like Harry Brook might find it easier. There's no baggage behind him and he can just come out and play with freedom as he does.”
Hazlewood also voiced his views on the No.1 ranked Men’s Test batter Joe Root, who will be on a quest to break his deadlock for a Test century Down Under.
"When (Root) first came out, it was a little bit of a different attack. It was probably (Mitchell) Johnson and (Ryan) Harris and (Peter) Siddle.
“Gaz (Nathan Lyon) has been around a long time now, so he was probably there, but we sort of just jumped on the back of that.
“Joe's probably in the form of his life as well. So they're an unbelievable batting line, to be honest. The top seven have done really well...so it's a challenge."
Since his first Test outing in Australia back in 2013, Root has featured in 14 matches in the country, returning with 892 runs, averaging 35.68.
The England batting icon has been in sensational form with the bat over the past couple of years.
During the recent five-Test series against India, Root had surpassed former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-getter in Men's Test history. The 34-year-old also became the first-ever batter to amass 6000 runs in the ICC World Test Championship.
England’s hopes will be pinned on Root’s form with the bat as they eye their first Test series win against Australia since 2015.
The first Ashes Test will kickstart on November 21 in Perth.