ICC World Cup 2019 | Josh Hazlewood just hasn’t been playing any cricket, says Justin Langer

ICC World Cup 2019 | Josh Hazlewood just hasn’t been playing any cricket, says Justin Langer

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Justin Langer has justified Josh Hazlewood’s exclusion from by citing the latter’s recent injuries and the limited game time that he has had of late. Langer has also revealed Steve Smith’s dedication to be prepared for the big tournament as he returns to the squad after serving a 12-month ban.

Six days after the announcement of the final 15-man squad of the Kangaroos, coach Justin Langer has spoken up about the decision to leave Josh Hazlewood out of the squad. After being excluded from the preliminary squad announced in April, Hazlewood was snubbed a second time when the selectors decided to pick right-arm fast medium pacer Kane Richardson for the injured Jhye Richardson who was ruled out with a dislocated shoulder.

Having first experienced problems in May 2018, Hazlewood had been ruled out of the England series after experiencing pain in his lower back. The injury was more serious than it was thought to be initially, and subsequently, the bowler didn’t play for the next six months. However, soon after making a comeback, the injury reaggravated in January this year and has since returned to the nets, though he has not played in any matches.

“He just hasn’t been playing any cricket. He’s come off a second stress fracture in his back and while he’s just starting to get up and running in the nets now - I think he’s played six white ball games in the last 18 months - that’s T20 and one-day cricket.”

Hazlewood has an impressive international record, having picked up 72 wickets in 44 ODIs and was the number one ranked bowler in the world in 2017. He was previously the vice-captain of the squad and made some bitter statements in the public after learning he wasn’t going to participate in the World Cup. However, the coach did not make too much of it and took the opportunity to praise his abilities.

“We know he’s a great bowler. He’s a brilliant bowler, but it was just such bad timing for him. He's a terrific bloke, he's been vice-captain of the team,” quoted Langer.

The defending champions would be looking forward to taking full advantage of their excellent vein of form and retaining their crown, having defeated India in an ODI series in their own backyard before whitewashing Pakistan 5-0. The notable thing about these victories is that they have been achieved without former captains Steve Smith and David Warner, who were banned for a year from cricket for being involved in a ball-tampering scandal against South Africa in March 2018.

Since the upliftment of the ban, Smith has scored two half-centuries in an unofficial series against New Zealand, while Warner ended the recently concluded IPL as the tournament’s top scorer with 692 runs in 12 innings.

“They’ve (Smith and Warner) had 12 months to have a good think about a mistake they and the team made. I’m sure they’ll be better people for that,” said Langer about the incident.

When asked about whether Smith was prepared for the mega event after having last played in an ODI for the Kangaroos way back in January of 2018, Langer quoted, “it’s been hilarious for me, because whether on the Anzac Cove or in the lunchroom or we’re on the bus playing cards, (Smith’s) just shadow batting the whole time.”

“He loves batting — he’s shadow batting on the sand, he’s shadow batting in the shower — I’m not joking,” he concluded.

The record 5-time World Cup champions will be in action against England on the 25th of May in a World Cup warm-up match, before facing Sri Lanka two days later in what would be their last match before their World Cup campaign commences against Pakistan on the June 1.

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