Hazlewood credits experience for growth as a T20 bowler

Josh Hazlewood's evolution from Test specialist to T20 star, showcasing adaptability and skill in cricket's shortest format.

If Josh Hazlewood was roused from his sleep in the dead of night and handed a cricket ball, he would likely land it on a good length at the first time of asking. Such is the 34-year-old’s metronomic accuracy, a trait that has made him a fundamental part of Australia’s pace attack in Tests for the last decade.

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But what is a virtue in the longest format can be a bane in the T20 version. It seemed to be the case for Hazlewood in the first half of his career, with his predictable lengths allowing batters to line him up and play the big shots. His T20I appearances for Australia were confined to just seven before 2020.

It is a tribute to Hazlewood’s skill and resolve, then, that he has adjusted to the demands of the shortest format in recent years. That he could do so first became apparent in 2021, when he took 11 scalps in nine matches for title-winning Chennai Super Kings in his second IPL. He went on to be an integral member of the Australian team that won the 2021 T20 World Cup.

This year, he has been the leader of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s attack, claiming 21 wickets in his team’s exhilarating run to the final.

He played a key role in effecting Punjab Kings’ implosion with the bat on Thursday with figures of 3.1-0-21-3.

Hazlewood attributed his improvement in T20s to acquiring greater experience. “Yeah, just the opportunity and experience of playing the format more often, obviously mostly international but IPL as well, I think I have really improved,” Hazlewood told the media. “You just learn every year and you sort of just put it into your arsenal and remember that the next time. You can train all you want, but playing T20 cricket is probably the main thing that has made me improve as a T20 bowler. It is purely learning from the experiences.”