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The Accuracy Master: Josh Hazlewood's Most Inspiring Spells For Australia In ODIs

Arnav Chopra

Josh Hazlewood (Source: @ICC, @cricketcomau, @WACA_Cricket/X.com)Josh Hazlewood (Source: @ICC, @cricketcomau, @WACA_Cricket/X.com)

Class, Calmness, and Consistency are the three words that perfectly describe Australia's pace spearhead, Josh Hazlewood. Relying on his line and length, Hazlewood has mastered all three formats for Australia, alongside the T20 circuit.

Hazlewood made a comeback in the recent one-day international (ODI) game against South Africa at Cairns, but was unable to impress with the ball after a long wait. However, that one game will not define Hazlewood, and that is why, in this article, we will look at Josh Hazlewood's best spells in one-day cricket for Australia.

5. 3/11 vs West Indies, Bridgetown, 2021

At number five on this list is Hazlewood's decent figures against the West Indies back in 2021 at Bridgetown, Barbados, during Australia's tour of the Caribbean. It was the first ODI, and Alex Carey was appointed skipper for this game, particularly as he led Australia to a wonderful 133-run victory on the back of excellent bowling performances.

Mitchell Starc picked up a five-wicket haul, alongside Josh Hazlewood's three wickets for eleven runs in his six overs at a miserly economy of 1.83, while grabbing the wickets of Shimron Hetmyer, Darren Bravo, and Jason Holder. Australia batted first in this game and scored 252, where Carey scored 67 and Ashton Turner went on to score 49. In reply, Australia bowled out the West Indies for just 123, registering a massive victory in the series opener.

4. 4/35 vs Pakistan, Adelaide, 2015

In the game, during the iconic face-off between Wahab Riaz and Shane Watson in the third quarter-final of the ICC World Cup 2015 between Australia and Pakistan, there was another great spell with the ball. In this do-or-die knockout encounter, which happened at Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Pakistan batted first and were knocked over for just 213, where Josh Hazlewood destroyed the Pakistani batting lineup with his spell of 4 for 35 in his ten overs, bowling at an economy of just 3.50.

He grabbed the wickets of Ahmed Shehzad, Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, and Sohail Khan. In return, Australia chased the score down comfortably in 33.5 overs, winning very easily by six wickets to spare and progressing to the semi-final, following which they emerged as the eventual champions, defeating New Zealand in the final, as Hazlewood played a crucial role with the ball throughout this tournament.

3. 5/50 vs West Indies, Bridgetown, 2016

In another iconic spell bowled by pacer Hazlewood, which again happened at Bridgetown in Barbados, but this time during 2016, when Australia were in the Caribbean for a tri-nation series against West Indies and South Africa, as the final of this series was being played.

Australia batted first and scored 270, and in reply, the West Indies were cleaned up for just 212, where Hazlewood emerged as the hero with figures of 5 for 50 in 9.4 overs, at an economy of 5.17. His iconic spell helped Australia secure a victory by 58 runs, as the West Indies failed to chase down the score in this showdown in Barbados.

Although Mitchell Marsh received the player of the match award for contributions with both bat and ball, Hazlewood was eventually awarded the player of the series award for picking up 11 wickets throughout this Tri-Nation series in the West Indies. His accuracy once again proved crucial for the Australian side, who gained an outstanding victory against two top oppositions at the time.

2. 5/31 vs South Africa, Perth, 2014

During the second ODI of South Africa's tour of Australia in 2014, at the iconic WACA ground in Perth, Australia played a classic against their rivals. The game in Perth saw Australia being folded for a paltry 154, where Morne Morkel destroyed the Australian batting lineup with a five-wicket haul.

However, in reply, Australia never let them get an easy win, as the Kangaroos made them sweat till the last run. Josh Hazlewood came all guns blazing, picking five crucial wickets for just 31 runs in his 9.1 overs, bowling another decent spell at an economy of 3.20, where he grabbed extremely crucial wickets of Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Farhaan Behardien, AB de Villiers, and Vernon Philander.

Even though South Africa won the game, as they chased the score down with 134 balls remaining and three wickets to spare, but Hazlewood was the major aggressor for Australia, who demonstrated the typical Aussie mindset of not giving up anytime soon.

1. 6/52 vs New Zealand, Birmingham, 2017

Now moving to the best ever spell by Hazlewood, which happened against New Zealand during the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. It was the second match of Group A, happening at Edgbaston in Birmingham, where New Zealand, who opted to bat first, were able to score 291 on the back of skipper Kane Williamson's 100.

Regardless, Hazlewood proved to be a menace with the ball, picking six wickets for 52 runs in his nine overs at an economy of 5.77, where he grabbed wickets of Martin Guptill, Neil Broom, James Neesham, Adam Milne, Mitchell Santner, and Trent Boult. Hazlewood again relied on his swing, line, length, consistency, and accuracy to dismantle the BlackCaps batting lineup with his strength.

Unfortunately, in reply, Australia were at 53 for three when rain intervened after nine overs, and the match couldn't even come to a conclusion as the DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) system could not be implemented due to a lack of overs, and eventually the match was called off without a result. Despite that, this spell by Hazlewood is long remembered for how he kept his rhythm intact in Birmingham.