Every player brings something unique to the team they play. Of course, you got to be unique or at least be the best in whatever you do to rise among the fellow players to get into the playing XI.
Starc leads the attack, any day. He gets the ball to swing. There are these pinpoint yorkers that can unsettle the batters any day at any time. You might have just got in, you might have scored a ton. Starc can still get rid of you with those deliveries.
Cummins comes up with that extra pace and those bouncers which not only is threatening but is quite dangerous too. Ask Overton. Karunaratne or Shami. They might not talk to you about it, but the scars would paint the picture.
What does Hazlewood bring? Oh, he is a robot. A modern-day robot who can keep hitting the pitch hard and bowl at the same line and length if he knows that it would trouble the batters. He can go on and on. It’s more like a marathon, an endurance contest. At times, the pitch gives in, helps him out maybe because he deserves to derive at least something for his persistence.
He constantly fluctuates between the social media gibes. More precisely between the words “underrated” and “overrated”. Some call him a red-ball specialist. Some call him more. Some hate him when he couldn’t get wickets, some loves him for keeping the batters quiet.
Even Australia didn’t believe in the ‘white-ball’ Hazlewood, even recently, they rested him for the World Cup so that he can lead the attack in the Ashes which followed. Hazlewood, however, embraces his shortcomings and understands his team and selections. He does love to do more though. He actually can.Now, what does white-ball Hazlewood can bring to the team? If Starc would cover up the initial and the death bowling. Cummins would unsettle the batters with his speed once again. Hazlewood can produce those dots to add pressure on the batters. Three dots in a row can make the batters insecure. Four can make them step out. Five and six can get you a wicket. Even if there isn’t a wicket, dots still can help you win matches. Hazlewood is that man. Of course, he doesn’t bring many variations like Kane Richardson or prefers those knuckleball like Andrew Tye. He keeps it safe, and again, he is a robot while doing that.
Intelligent and articulate, you rarely see him lose his cool on the field, and he is always ears for quick learning. It might be from anyone. From the senior pacer or from someone who is relatively new. He doesn’t mind.
He might not get to 150s but can still be consistent with those 130s. He knows when to use those 140s and 150s and knows when to slow it down. It is more about being comfortable in doing all these while having fun. These are skills he had picked up on the job because you need USPs to sell yourself to the team first then to the world.
Now, today was his day. He will be remembered when someone talks about the Summer of 36. India’s collapse. The way he partnered with Cummins to rattle the batting order of visitors. Of course, the way he gets rid of Kohli.
But tomorrow, He might go back to being that underrated bowler once again, and when he goes wicket-less, there will be people who would call him overrated and would question his place in the team. He would go back warming the bench because that how the game goes. No matter what, he will keep coming back, and would make sure to have fun while doing that.
MS Dhoni was a special man in the run chase: Michael Holding