Hazlewood reached the landmark in his 26th over when Mehidy Hasan Miraz edged behind while attempting to drive on the up. Josh Hazlewood became the ninth Australian bowler to reach 300 Test wickets after claiming his 14th career five-wicket haul in the first Test against Bangladesh in Darwin, joining an elite group that includes three of his current teammates. The 35-year-old then completed his fourth Test six-wicket haul, and his first in nine years, when Ebadot Hossain was caught behind to bring Bangladesh’s innings to an end.
“You don’t really think about those sort of milestones when you’re playing,” Hazlewood told Kayo Sports after taking his 300th wicket. “I guess it’s probably something you look back on at the end.”
The experienced player attributed Australia’s perseverance to the fact that Bangladesh’s batters had made the bowling attack work hard during the innings. “Yeah, it’s pretty hard work out there on that track. We probably stuck it out, we didn’t let the runs flow too quickly there at the end.”
He was unlucky at the start of the innings when Nathan Lyon dropped a catch off Tanzid Hasan during Hazlewood’s first over, and Tanzid then scored 101 after being given a chance at 0. With the second new ball, he struck once more and got rid of Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto for 84 with a great delivery from around the wicket.
“They hung in there tough,” Hazlewood said.
There was also some debate over his choice for the opening Test, with Scott Boland vying for a spot in the attack. Yet Hazlewood gave a powerful performance, delivering a spell that altered the course of the match while Australia’s other bowlers had difficulty getting any breakthrough on the good batting wicket.
