Hazlewood Eager for More Test Appearances Alongside Boland Ahead of Bangladesh Series

Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood is eager to share more Test match moments with Scott Boland as he gears up for a red-ball comeback in next month’s series against Bangladesh in Darwin. The 35-year-old hasn’t played a Test since July 2025 after being ruled out by persistent hamstring and calf injuries, which also saw him miss the entire Ashes campaign.

Hazlewood, along with Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Boland, last featured together in the day-night Test versus the West Indies in Jamaica, where Australia fielded an all-pace attack without a specialist spinner. Prior to that, Hazlewood and Boland had only teamed up in a Test once—at Edgbaston in 2023.

With Nathan Lyon expected to return from injury for the Bangladesh series, Australia are anticipated to bring back their leading spinner, potentially setting up a battle between Hazlewood and Boland for a spot in the playing XI for the first Test. Still, Hazlewood remains hopeful about representing more frequently alongside Boland over the coming year, especially with Australia slated to play nearly 20 Test matches during that period.

“I’d love to play more with Scotty. We’re obviously a little bit similar, but I think there’s still a lot of differences in our bowling. Every time he’s come in, he’s done unbelievably well. His career just keeps getting better and better the older he gets,” said Hazlewood via Cricinfo.

“I think there’s enough opportunities in the next 12 months, 18 months for us to play a lot of cricket hopefully together, that’d be a nice one to tick off. But I think as four quicks, we’ve got Ness [Michael Neser] and Doggy [Brendan Doggett] there as well. So I think we’ll have to lean on all six at some point in the next sort of 18 months,” he added.

Over the past year, Hazlewood has struggled with injuries, featuring in just six of Australia’s last 14 Test matches due to recurring hamstring and calf issues. Despite these setbacks, the seasoned fast bowler is just five wickets shy of reaching the milestone of 300 Test dismissals, having taken 295 at an outstanding average of 24.21.

Australia’s chair of selectors, George Bailey, shared that the team’s medical staff have been cautious in managing Hazlewood’s workload by giving him rest during the white-ball tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

“I think this is probably the first time we’ve actually had a lead in to a Test without any cricket in terms of games. It’s been big days, Tuesdays, Thursdays mostly, with some other stuff filtered in around that, and then last week we had a few back-to-back days, Tuesday, Wednesday, and again next week I think back-to-back,” said Hazlewood.

“Leading into other Test series and Test matches, you’re playing T20, you’re playing one-dayers, you’re travelling, so it’s tough to fit those bowling sessions in. This has been sort of tailor-made for a Test match, which is I think should work out well. It’s just trying to replicate a day in the field of Test cricket. Really, it’s bowling multiple spells in a day. It’s bowling back-to-back days,” he added.

Amid his recent injury challenges, Hazlewood is focusing solely on being fully fit for the opening Test against Bangladesh rather than looking too far into the future. He acknowledged that the Australian squad recognizes the major opportunity ahead over the next 12 months. With overseas Test series against South Africa, India, and England looming, Australia have a rare opportunity to achieve historic wins in three of the most challenging cricketing environments within a single year.

“I think every time you look ahead in sport it can bite you pretty quickly. I’ve always done that. I’ve looked at it like that literally day in day out for the last few weeks here, ticking boxes, getting workloads in. Next week’s another tick, and then I guess once you get through all that, then you look at Darwin. So everything else is a long way away. Just take it as it comes,” said Hazlewood.

“This group’s been together for quite a long time now, the majority of it, anyway. The big series are obviously England and India. I haven’t won in South Africa either, so there’s three that are coming up that are a few boxes to tick off there for not just me but from this whole playing group. I guess that’s been a driving factor during this prep, sort of in the back of your head, and even the months leading into it. Some real big Test series, and they’re all away, obviously those big ones. Tough competition, and hopefully we get the job done,” he concluded.

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