Australia will take on South Africa in the WTC Final at Lord's
Josh Hazlewood holds an enviable record any athlete playing team sports can ever dream of. He has played in a total of nine finals – two ODI World Cups, one T20 World Cup, Caribbean Premier League, two Indian Premier Leagues, Big Bash League, an Under 19 World Cup and a Sheffield Shield – and ended up on the winning side every time.
The most recent was his heroics in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 where he claimed 21 wickets from 13 matches and played a crucial role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) clinching their maiden title after 18 years of wait.
It felt meaningful when a teary-eyed Virat Kohli full of joy gave the big Australian a big hug after the final. Soon after that successful campaign, Hazlewood will set out on winning his 10th piece of silverware with the national team beginning from June 11.
Australia will defend their World Test Championship title from 2023 at the Lord’s when they take on South Africa for the 2023-25 title with Hazlewood expected to play a huge role. The 34-year-old played a big role so far with 57 wickets from 13 Tests in the latest edition as Australia entered their second final in a row.
“As long as the shoulder came good, I was always going to head back over, and I was pretty confident that it would. It was a good couple of weeks; everything went to plan as best it could. To get the chocolates in the IPL was another amazing experience in the final – anytime you play at that ground (Narendra Modi Stadium) and it’s a close to a full crowd, it’s pretty cool,” Hazlewood told Cricket.com.au in an interview.
Ahead of the big final, Hazlewood wished to continue his good form into the final and win the gold and silver mace at the Mecca of Cricket after missing the previous final due to an injury. Hazlewood was sidelined for the fourth and fifth Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India due to a precautionary measure for a shoulder niggle.
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“I feel in much better place this time around, and I think in any format, my numbers over the last two years have been pretty good, so I’ve got a lot to fall back on. Skill wise, I still feel like I’m bowling the best I have in my career and it’s just a matter of the body holding up, which it has been in the last few months,” he said.
“With it being a final, it’s all about this week and putting a good performance over the next few days and then into the game,” he added.
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