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 Hazlewood: England to have 'unbelievable' batting line-up for Ashes

The fast bowler is looking to keep himself occupied prior to pitting himself against England and will most likely mix white and red-ball cricket

Josh Hazlewood is set to play in a Sheffield Shield match in November leading into the Ashes as he is about to encounter an "unbelievable" England batsman lineup that he believes will be the best they will have brought to Australia during his career.

Hazlewood played five of the six white-ball matches against South Africa after resting for the West Indies T20I series during the Tests and Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have not been seen on the field in recent weeks either. Hazlewood will not be on the field in September but is eager to keep putting up miles on the legs before the opening Test in Perth rather than taking extended breaks.

"It felt like over the last 12 months, the best way for me to go about it is just keep on ticking over, keep playing, not having too long off bowling," Hazlewood said at an event to promote Play Cricket week. "I don't.getting that intensity and volume back is really difficult for me. So if I can just keep keeping it up there, match intensity as long as I can, then that's kind of the best way for me to do it."

Hazlewood, who played four Tests in the 2023 Ashes, is looking forward to a tough test from the England batting line-up. Occasionally in the recent series against India they showed a more sophisticated style than an outright attack, before falling to six-run defeat at The Oval. A 7 for 66 collapse which started with a Harry Brook stroke sparked hot debate after a hundred of brilliance.

Brook, the No. 2-ranked Test batsman behind Joe Root now, will be on his first Test tour of Australia and in nine T20Is there in 2022 had a career best of 20. How he shapes up to conditions would be imperative to England's prospects. So too would be the liking of Root who has not yet touched a Test hundred in Australia where he averages 35.68 in 14 matches.

There's never a shortage of aggression when Harry Brook's batting, England vs India, 5th Test, The Oval, 4th day, August 3, 2025

Josh Hazlewood expects Harry Brook to play without any baggage in Australia•AFP/Getty Images

"England have quite obviously had very flat pitches for the past couple of years, and they also had a very dry winter, so they must be getting exhausted and spinning now," Hazlewood added. "I think [Brook] will adapt. He's a good cricketer. He's world number one for a reason, and he'll be a tough nut to crack.".

"Initially, when Root did come in, it was a bit of a different kind of attack. It was probably [Mitchell] Johnson and [Ryan] Harris and [Peter] Siddle. Gaz [Nathan Lyon] has been here for years now, so he was obviously there, but we sort of just rode on the back of that

"I think a new face such as Harry Brook could make it easier. There's no history behind him and he can just go out and play freely as he does. Joe's in probably the best form of his life as well. So they're a staggering batting line, to be honest. The top seven have played really well.so it's a test."

Asked whether it would be their most potent batting lineup to be sent to Australia in recent history, Hazlewood said: "Yeah, definitely."

Australia host a three-match T20I series against New Zealand in early October before India visit for ODIs and T20Is ahead of the Ashes. How his game is arranged to allow him a red-ball game is to be decided - the fourth round of Sheffield Shield matches starting on November 10, when New South Wales play Victoria at the SCG, may be too close to the start of the series - but he needs to have the opportunity to revive long-form intensity.

Last summer Hazlewood appeared in only one game for New South Wales prior to the India Test series, and while he bowled 24 wicketless overs against Queensland he was Australia's best bowler at the beginning of the first Test against Western Australia in Perth before injury cut short his series. This winter, however, he appeared in all four Tests against South Africa and West Indies, albeit the burden on bowler-friendly Caribbean surfaces was not excessive.

"The Test only boys will play more than one [Shield game]. They'll probably play two or three, but individuals are on different programs," he added. "I've used it last season and I've sort of realized that it's very valuable. Time on the ground, multiple periods in a day, it's sort of hard to replicate it at training. So, to have that coming into a Test series is really important, I believe."