Hazlewood completes Australia's fab four of five-fors

As debutant Josh Hazlewood completed his five-wicket haul on Thursday, the last piece of Australia’s bowling future may have clicked into place.

Hazlewood had an inauspicious start to the second Test against India the day before, breaking down in the intense heat and humidity, and getting his first wicket in dodgy fashion when Cheteshwar Pujara was ruled caught behind off the helmet.

“I’d never experienced cramps like that before, “ said Hazlewood. “[Medical staff] thought maybe a bit of tension in the morning contributed to that. It was pretty painful at the time but obviously I got out there this morning and got through it.”

But after also dismissing Adelaide’s twin centurion Virat Kohli, Hazlewood returned on Day 2 to knock off the well-set overnight batsman Ajinkya Rahane, captain MS Dhoni and in-form lower-order stylist Ravi Ashwin.

Not just that, but he did it with textbook fast bowling: consistently hitting a line just outside the off stump and a length just too short to drive, and moving the ball slightly in the air and off the seam. Four of his wickets were caught behind and one at first slip.

“We bowled a bit fuller, that fourth stump line, which was our plan, and got a few nicks through to Hadds, so it worked,” he said. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

In doing that, he completed a set that could have great significance over the next decade. In the last couple of years Australia has seen five-wicket hauls on debut to Nathan Lyon, Patrick Cummins and James Pattinson. In a couple of years, that quartet could be Australia’s Test attack.

Pattinson nicked off Brendon McCullum, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill for a combined 13 runs on this same Gabba pitch.

Cummins hammered the edges of AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis on his way to six wickets and a famous win.

Lyon twirled past Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Matthews to grab 5/34 on Sri Lanka’s home turf.

Lyon is the only one to settle into the current team, with 127 wickets across 36 Tests. He’s also the oldest, but at 27 an off-spinner could have years of quality cricket ahead of him. Lyon has developed as a player, and with Australia’s spin drought showing no sign of breaking you’d have to think he’s likely to play at least five.

Pattinson has managed 13 Tests interrupted by injury, but snared 51 victims from those limited opportunities. He bowls quickly and aggressively, swings the ball sharply and is a good bat. At 24 years old he has time on his side.

Cummins is an out-and-out fast bowler whose back injuries that have stopped him adding to his sole Test appearance. But having debuted at age 18 he’s still only 21. Recently he started his international comeback through the limited-overs teams, and will work towards getting his body and action right to break his 18-month hiatus from first-class cricket.

To these three you add Hazlewood, a very tall bowler who has decent pace, but more importantly has stability and accuracy. Those are qualities you’d need to offset Pattinson and Cummins. Hazlewood will be 24 in a couple of weeks, and has just started his Test match learning curve. He’s not lacking in confidence.

“Obviously I started the summer very well in the limited-overs formats, but to do it in a Test match was something I’ve always dreamed of. I felt like the ball’s coming out beautifully, and the rhythm and everything is there, so yeah, the confidence is sky high.”

Of course these three young pace-bowlers need experience and have mistakes and misfortune ahead. Few waltz into Test cricket and stay untroubled for years on end. But between them, they could develop into an enviable core.

Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson are the Lost in Translation bowlers – those who’ve just found true meaning in their later years. Harris was past 30 before he debuted, Johnson was past 30 and still being described as having potential. Neither’s late blooming can last many more seasons. Gradually the new faces will come in. Hazlewood’s day out at the Gabba is part of this transition.

In this respect, Peter Siddle has a role to play. Having just turned 30, and with 56 Tests under his belt, he can provide the required experience while having a few years in him. Siddle started his career as a firebrand, bouncing Sachin Tendulkar with his first ball in Tests, but in his more mature phase he can be the restrictive bowler who maintains controlled menace at one end.

Which leads you to ponder the future of Mitchell Starc. The decision to swap Siddle for Starc this Test has proved a negative for both parties: Siddle would feel hard done by after battling through the difficult pitches of the UAE and Adelaide only to be discarded for a bouncy track, while Starc’s confidence will be shot after being marked by India’s batsmen as their designated tonk recipient.

Starc’s Test record so far is poor – a strike rate of 64 and an average of 37 are some indication. His two five-fors came while South Africa clobbered 569 runs at the WACA, and while cleaning up Sri Lanka’s tail in Hobart. Most of his wicket returns come in noughts, twos or threes.

On the other hand, he’s never had a proper run. His 14 Tests have been spread across nine series. In five of those series he’s played one match. Only once – his first two outings – has he been given two games in a row. He’s also only 24, can swing the ball, and has time to come good.

As we’ve seen in this match, reserves are essential. In the wings, fittingly, is Jackson Bird, another extremely accurate bowler who could assume that role. There’s also the left-arm Sheffield Shield sensation Jason Behrendorff, who my Roar Radio colleague Adam Collins raves about for his strike rate of 47.

But if we can read into the numbers, the five-fors on debut are talking. Hazlewood, Pattinson, Cummins, Lyon. It may be a while yet, but I reckon this is the combination we’ll be reading on many a team sheet in years to come.

This article first appeared on Wisden India