Why Josh Hazlewood Should Be A Part Of Test XI Of The Year Ahead Of Cummins And Atkinson?
![Josh Hazlewood celebrates a wicket. [Source: @SalmanAsif2007/X]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1735666265283_Hazlewood_Test_Team_2024.jpg?im=Resize=(650,450)?type=mq)
Josh Hazlewood celebrates a wicket. [Source: @SalmanAsif2007/X]
As is the custom around this part of the year, leading publications have announced their respective Test teams of 2024. Barring the wicket-keeper and the solitary spinner, ESPNcricinfo and cricket.com.au have as many as nine players in common.
India’s Jasprit Bumrah, New Zealand’s Matt Henry and Australia’s Josh Hazlewood are the three specialist fast bowlers in both the teams. Surprisingly, there is no place for England’s Gus Atkinson and Australia’s Pat Cummins in spite of them being the second and fourth-highest Test wicket-takers among pacers this year.
Having made the most of his first six months as a Test cricketer, Atkinson is one of the two pacers alongside Bumrah to have bagged a couple of match awards in 2024. Only the second bowler behind Bumrah (71) to pick more than 50 wickets in the format this year, Atkinson’s 52 scalps have come at an average of 22.15, an economy rate of 3.73 and a strike rate of 35.61.
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Cummins, whose only match award came in his last outing of the year, dismissed 37 batters at an average of 24.02, an economy rate of 3.22 and a strike rate of 44.70. Furthermore, Atkinson and Cummins are the third and fourth-highest run-scorers respectively among lower-order batters this year. While Atkinson and Cummins scored a century and a half-century respectively in 2024, Hazlewood managed just 35 runs across nine innings.
Cummins, in particular, could’ve solely been included as a captain of a team whose captain has led just once this year. For the unversed, Cummins’ win percentage of 66.66 is the joint-highest among captains with more than five Tests.
How Did Josh Hazlewood Trump Gus Atkinson And Pat Cummins?
Joint eighth-highest Test wicket-taker in 2024, Hazelwood dismissed 35 batters at an average of 13.60, an economy rate of 2.53 and a strike rate of 32.22.
In simple words, Hazlewood’s mind-blowing average, best among bowlers with more than five wickets in 2024, made him stand out above Atkinson and Cummins. The fact that he maintained it for seven Tests speaks highly about the kind of impact he made in those matches.
In the form of former West Indies captain Jason Holder (33 wickets at 12.39), it is to be noted that the last time when a pacer had a better average (min. 30 wickets) than Hazlewood was six years ago. Speaking particularly of Australians, Hazlewood is only their third bowler after Charlie Turner (10.54 in 1888) and Clarrie Grimmett (11.24 in 1936) to average less than 14 (min. 30 wickets) in a calendar year.
Furthermore, another pivotal factor behind Hazlewood’s selection over Atkinson and Cummins is the percentage of dismissing specialist batters. With 27 out of his 35 dismissals being batters who bat between Nos. 1-7, the 33-year-old player (77.14%) outperformed Atkinson (73.07%) and Cummins (67.56%) in this aspect.
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