Cricket-Australia’s Hazlewood does not want to miss WTC final again

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LONDON (Reuters) -A calf injury forced Josh Hazlewood to miss being part of Australia’s World Test Championship win two years ago and the fast bowler is keen to avoid a second such heartbreak as they defend their WTC title next week.

Hazlewood is vying with Scott Boland to claim the last slot in Australia’s pace attack for the final against South Africa at Lord’s from Wednesday.

The 34-year-old arrived late in England, after bowling Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title on Tuesday.

“I was quite close last time,” Hazlewood, who recently recovered from a should injury, said of the 2023 final he missed.

“But I feel in much better place this time around, and I think in any format, my numbers over the last two years have been pretty good, so I’ve got a lot to fall back on.

“Skill wise, I still feel like I’m bowling the best I have in my career and it’s just a matter of the body holding up, which it has been in the last few months.”

Hazlewood was Bengaluru’s most successful bowler in the IPL but he will need to shift from 20-overs cricket in India to a different format and the different English conditions.

Adjusting the length would be particularly crucial, he said.

“In the IPL games, I was probably hitting around that seven-to nine-meters in the powerplay, and not really threatening the stumps as much as you want to in test cricket, in particular here in England,” he said.

“So, it’ll just be about pushing that length and touch fuller and still getting that zip through the keeper.”

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Michael Perry)