Hazlewood Plans to Play Two of Three ODIs Before South Africa Tests

Josh Hazlewood is planning a careful workload as Australia head into ODI series against Zimbabwe and South Africa, followed by a Test tour of South Africa.

Balancing intensity and rest

Rather than play every ODI, Hazlewood is thinking of featuring in two of the three matches in each series. The aim is to keep his bowling intensity up without putting needless strain on his body.

He said the best way forward is still to play as much as is reasonable, and with two ODI series before the Test matches, two out of three in each looks likely.

Hazlewood believes match intensity will matter as Australia build towards the Test tour, which starts in Durban on 9 October.

Feeling good physically

The 35-year-old is happy with his condition after a long training block before the Bangladesh series. He said he did around ten weeks of work leading into it and was very pleased to come out the other side largely unscathed.

Selection picture

Australia’s selectors will name the ODI squads for the Zimbabwe and South Africa series before settling the Test squad for the South Africa tour.

The panel is also watching the Australia A tour of India as it assesses players for Australia’s five-match Test series in India, scheduled for January and February.