Hazlewood pushes selection case for World Test Championship Final

By Jonathan Healy, in London

Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood made a seamless transition from the IPL to the red-ball as he pushed his case for selection in the ICC World Test Championship Final on Saturday with a strong hitout during his first training session since arriving in England.

Hazlewood won the IPL with Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier this week and only arrived in London on Wednesday night ahead of the Ultimate Test against the Proteas at Lord's that commences on June 11.

The right-armer looked in good touch in Beckenham on Saturday at an optional training session for the Aussies, with head coach Andrew McDonald and selector Tony Dodemaide keeping a close eye on proceedings as Hazlewood battles with fellow seamer Scott Boland for a spot in the playing XI.

Hazlewood unsurprisingly hit his usual line and length quickly when bowling to Australian teammate Marnus Labuschagne and the 34-year-old said he would increase his pace over the coming days in the lead-up to the clash with South Africa in north London.

"Today is sort of, post-flight and just to get moving," Hazlewood said prior to training.

"I will probably nail down a few more overs tomorrow and then over the next few days, tick a lot of boxes.

"I ticked over some good overs just before the (IPL) Final in Ahmedabad in different weather than this and it was quite a tough session.

"And then obviously, every time you play a game in the IPL, you're probably going to get almost seven or eight overs in, if you really want to. So in and around with warm-ups and obviously the four overs in the game. And we bowled second a lot of the time in IPL, so that was sort of two warm-ups, so you can squeeze in overs here and there and things are going pretty well."

Hazlewood at Australia training in Beckenham // Getty Images

Hazlewood hasn't played a red-ball contest since he featured in the third Test against India in December, with Scott Boland edging his way into Australia's line-up for the remainder of that series and impressing with a 10-wicket match haul in the series finale in Sydney.

The pair are seemingly battling it out for one place in Australia's XI to face South Africa, with skipper Pat Cummins and left-armer Mitchell Starc certain to feature in the one-off contest with first-choice spinner Nathan Lyon.

"Everyone looks in good shape," Hazlewood said of his fellow bowlers.

"We've all been in different parts of the world playing or training over the last couple of months, so it's good to get everyone together and catch up with everyone yesterday and the day before and get all on the same page moving forward."

Hazlewood took five wickets in his most recent match at Lord's during the 2023 Ashes series against England and the experienced quick believes the conditions at the iconic venue will suit his bowling style.

"Any time I bowl in England I'm reasonably confident," Hazlewood stated.

"I've had some good tours here over the last 10 years and Lord's in particular.

"I haven't lost before at Lord's yet as a player, certainly in red-ball cricket for sure and we have had a couple of good wins there over the years."