The Ashes: Josh Hazelwood under no illusions as to the power of England's Test batting lineup

    Australia seamer Josh Hazelwood admits his bowling attack will have their work cut out for them when England arrive on their shores for the Ashes in November.

    Josh Hazelwood test whites 2024 alalmy Josh Hazelwood test whites 2024 alalmy

    After a literal mountain of runs, England veteran Joe Root and rising star Harry Brook currently occupy the top two spots on the Test batting rankings. Meanwhile, combative opener Ben Duckett is down in tenth.

    In particular, Brook has been relentless with the bat of late, scoring two centuries and an unfortunate 99 in the recent series against India, who boast a dangerous bowling attack. Hazelwood acknowledged that these runs have been on flat pitches, but form is form.  

    "England has obviously been quite flat wickets recently, the last few years, and it's been a really dry summer as well, so they are probably starting to get tired and spin now," the metronomic seamer told ESPN.

    "I think [Brook] will adapt. He's a good player. He's at the top of the rankings for a reason, and he'll be a tough challenge.

    "When [Root] first came out, it was a little bit of a different attack. It was probably [Mitchell] Johnson and [Ryan] Harris and [Peter] Siddle. Gaz [Nathan Lyon] has been around a long time now, so he was probably there, but we sort of just jumped on the back of that

    "I think a fresh face like Harry Brook might find it easier. There's no baggage behind him and he can just come out and play with freedom as he does. Joe's probably in the form of his life as well. So they're an unbelievable batting line, to be honest. The top seven have done really well... so it's a challenge."

    At 34 years of age, Hazelwood is aware he needs to manage his workload. He skipped the T20I series in West Indies then played five out of the six recent white-ball matches against South Africa. He'll have his feet up for September, then play a Sheffield Shield match in November for preparation.

    "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," he added.

    "I find… getting back to that intensity and volume is quite tough for me. So if I can just keep staying up there, match intensity as long as I can, then that's sort of the best way for me to go about it."

    The 2025-26 edition of the Ashes will start in Perth on 21 November.