With the second new ball in hand, he nipped one past what looked a textbook defensive shot from Marco Jansen to trim the top of the bails. Three balls later, he produced an unplayable lifter that climbed from just back of a length, taking Simon Harmer’s glove through to Alex Carey. In many ways, Harmer could consider himself unlucky to have even got a touch.
“I think in particular from this [end] there were a few sort of cracks and plates starting to open up a little bit and that was around seven or eight metres,” he told the host broadcaster. “So it was just about running in and hitting that with a bit of a harder ball. Things were going to happen. Lucky enough to get one to shoot and one to jump, so, yeah, [they] kept me in play.”
He had claimed the opening wicket the previous afternoon when Ryan Rickleton top-edged a pull, then broke a solid second-wicket stand with a hint of reverse-swing that pinned David Bedingham lbw.
On the final day, Australia were defied for 25.4 overs by Aiden Markram and Wiaan Mulder, but it was Hazlewood who got the ball rolling when Mulder feathered down the leg side. Carey’s full-length one-handed catch in the webbing of his left glove made the wicket but, while there is often a suggestion of bad luck for a batter who falls in that way, a leg slip had just been brought into position so there was a plan in the works. Bursting through to seal the victory was the final flourish from Hazlewood.
“He’s a superstar,” Pat Cummins said. “He obviously gets spoken about a lot about his consistency, but I think that undersells him [and] what he does. He’s really skilful with the new ball, but once you get a reversing ball, he’s just as skillful, he can swing it both ways.
“And one thing I’ve always loved about Joshy and [Mitchell Starc] is they’re just so happy getting to the grind. They’ll never shy away from having a bowl. It’s not always the case with Test players whereas they’re just, whatever the team needs, they’ll just roll up their sleeves and go to work. A captain’s dream.”
Of course, the conversations around Hazlewood’s position have never been performance-based, it’s been about staying on the park and because Boland has been so effective when filling in. He missed all of last season’s Ashes due to injury, but the six-wicket haul in Durban was his second in his last three outings after the 6 for 89 which was a rare bright spot in the Darwin defeat against Bangladesh.
“Before that Darwin Test match we did a lot of work, a big training block to get ahead of the eight ball and pay dividends down the track which is, I guess, now,” Hazlewood said. “Played a bit of one-day cricket in between to keep things ticking over. Still a lot of cricket to come, but right now, feeling good.”
So much of Australia’s planning this year has been around how to get Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood, as well as Nathan Lyon as he returned from a severe hamstring injury, to the startline of this 21-Test run. How long the big three remain intact without a break remains to be seen – their first big challenge is the four-day turnaround into the second Test here and rotation remains a possibility – but, alongside Hazlewood’s performance, it was also noteworthy how rapid Cummins was throughout the match where he touched 147kph.
“So much since the Ashes, really, has been how are we going to get ourselves to this position and [in] as good a spot as we can be,” Cummins said. “Amazing work by all our support staff. The buy-in from all the bowlers to miss the odd series, or games here or there, to get to this position. Joshy, day five, still charging in bowling as fast as I’ve seen him for a while [and] super skillful. Feel like we’re really well placed. It might not always be this case but couldn’t be happier with how well placed everyone is.”
When Hazlewood claimed his 300th Test wicket in Darwin during August, it meant Australia became the first side to field an attack of four bowlers holding that landmark. On the third day of the Durban Test, Australia’s frontline quartet went past 600 Test wickets in matches played together. “That’s a pretty bloody special moment if you ask me,” Lyon said at the time.
“Know it’s not going to happen forever and kind of relish it while it’s happening,” he said. “But someone particularly like Joshy, just seeing him getting consistent games back into him, he didn’t really get that chance for a few years. It’s great, it’s fun.”
Cummins’ opposite number, Temba Bavuma, did not want to pump the tyres of the opposition too much, but graciously acknowledged the challenge the attack brings, and have done for so long. “It’s a real execution of top-level skill,” he said. “I think there’s no one where you feel that you’re taking a breather. Maybe some of the younger guys within the team wouldn’t have come up against that type of relentless attack. I don’t want to overplay the guys, but their record speaks for themselves.”
And if the last few days is any guide, they still have plenty in the tank.
Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at Cricinfo
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