Always Pressure playing for Oz

News

Cricket365
November 21, 2016

Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood feels that there is always pressure on players wearing the Baggy Green to perform even in a dead rubber.

Australia face a Proteas team hell bent on completing a whitewash after a week of nasty incidents following the second Test in Hobart.

The Aussie team will be much changed with as many as four uncapped players called up to the squad to face South Africa in Adelaide.

Hazlewood said after a training session at the Adelaide oval: “There’s obviously pressure. There always is, playing for Australia.

“I think with such a young group, it is exciting. We get to build something together. I think there is not as much pressure because it’s everyone’s first game.

“We need to start from a point moving forward and hopefully this group gets an opportunity to do that, not only in one game but over a period of time. It’s very exciting and I’m looking forward to starting the game.”

The run of poor results suffered by Australia has lent an impatient quality to selectors but Hazlewood urged them to give new quicks Chadd Sayers and Jackson Bird time to gel with himself, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon.

When asked if the changes make it difficult for the attack to co-ordinate Hazlewood said: “I guess it does, a little bit. That’s going to happen from time to time.

“It’s obviously been Mitch (Starc), myself and Nathan (Lyon) there for all the Test matches and the new guys coming in has been different every time.”

Hazlewood says the mood in the camp has been lifted by the fresh faces in the squad.

He added: “Absolutely. We’ve talked about that over the last couple of days and it’s exciting.

“We get to build and it’s a new era. They’ll be quite nervous coming into the game but it’s up to us senior guys to help them.

“It’s a good feeling amongst the group at the moment.”