Josh Hazlewood keen on playing Zimbabwe and South Africa ODIs to maintain intensity

Josh Hazlewood is keen on playing as many games as possible, having returned to the international stage after a long injury layoff and multiple setbacks that cost him his participation in the previous edition of the Ashes on home soil and a place in Australia’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Hazlewood battled hamstring and Achilles injuries throughout the previous Australian summer and could only regain his fitness just in time for the IPL. He spearheaded Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) title defence, taking 15 scalps in 13 matches at an economy rate of 9.59, including a four‑wicket haul.

He was part of the Australia squad that played the two‑match Test series against Bangladesh at home. The 35‑year‑old pacer took eight wickets across four innings at an average of 16.00.

“I think still the best way forward for me is to play as much as I can [within] reason,” Hazlewood was quoted as saying by Cricinfo at the launch of Play Cricket Week in Sydney. “We’ve got two ODI series before that Test match series, so it might be playing two out of three in both of those. I think once you’re at that intensity, which we’re all at now, [it] is trying to maintain that as best we can.

“I’m very pleased with where I’m at physically, [I’ve] done a lot of work, probably the 10 weeks leading into that series, it was probably our last big training block before what’s to come. Very pleased to come out the other side pretty much unscathed.”

Australia are slated to play a three‑match ODI series against Zimbabwe starting September 15. The second and third ODIs will be played on September 18 and 20 respectively. They will then fly to South Africa for a multi‑format tour, which gets underway with a three‑match ODI series starting September 24.

They will then contest a three‑match Test series, which will be part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2025‑27 cycle.