Hazlewood pleased with effort after break

Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has not seen much action in the middle since August, after missing the last Ashes Test due to injury and then being rested for the ODIs and the theoretical tour to Bangladesh, but made a good comeback on Friday.

He took two very economical wickets for New South Wales as they beat Queensland in the Matador One Day Cup. It was Hazlewood's first game since August, and he was pleasantly surprised by how it went.

Hazlewood said on the CA website: "I was pretty surprised with how well they came out actually. I was very happy with how I went.

"I was a little bit nervous actually before the first ball having not played a game for a while. But once I got that first over or two out of the way my rhythm felt really good.

"It's a bit more relaxed down here at Drummoyne Oval than in an Ashes series. But I was still pretty happy about how they came out."

As for his chances of playing in the Tests against New Zealand next month, the young pacer hoped he'd done enough to keep his place, even though Peter Siddle was back on the radar.

But he said he was focused on the domestic series: "I've pulled up pretty well. It was good to get 10 overs out and now hopefully I'll pull up well tomorrow and get ready for Sunday.

"(The Test series is) always in the back of your mind but you try not to look too far ahead.

"What I did last year was take it game by game and week by week. That works best for me.

"It's all about Sunday for me and then obviously (the final on) the following Sunday and we'll go from there."

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