JOHANNESBURG: Pat Cummins believes Australia’s T20 fast bowling stocks are in good health heading into a home World Cup later this year, given the selectors can afford to leave a bowler like Josh Hazlewood out of the current T20 squad.
Hazlewood was selected for the three-match ODI series on Australia’s tour of South Africa but has been left out of the T20 squad for the preceding three-match series which begins in Johannesburg on Friday.
Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Jhye Richardson, and Sean Abbott have been preferred as Australia continue to search for the best combination ahead of October’s T20 World Cup.
Hazlewood has been starved of opportunities at T20I level. He did not play a single T20I between March 2016 and January 2020 due to Test and ODI duties, and has not been considered for Australia’s T20 squad as a result. But in five BBL games this season, he helped the Sydney Sixers win the title claiming five wickets, including three in the finals series, at a frugal economy rate of just 6.22.
“It’s one of the hard things,” Cummins said. “He’s a gun ODI and Test player, he hasn’t had much of a chance to play Big Bash or international T20 cricket. So it’s hard to actually know how good they are until they go back to the BBL and you see he shows his class there. The good thing is he, plus a number of bowlers, have done well for Australia or in the Big Bash so the fast bowling stocks are looking pretty good.”
Cummins believes both Sean Abbott and Jhye Richardson deserve their spots in the squad after their performances in the BBL.
“Especially someone like Sean,” Cummins said. “The way he has bowled over the last three or four (BBL editions), he’s been just phenomenal. He’s a really experienced guy. It’s great seeing those guys who have dominated the domestic level jump up and you know they’ve got a game plan already sorted.