Australia, defending champion ICC World Test Championshiphad a chance to defend the title in the 2025 WTC Finals. Still, South Africa overshadowed Australia’s domination in order to win its first ICC title 27 years later.
This has attracted the attention of several world-class former cricketers, including former Australian speedster Mitchell Johnson.
According to Johnson, Australia lost the match, especially in the four innings of the game, due to poor performance on Australian bowling decks.
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The former Australian took responsibility for the speedster Josh Hezlewood To prioritize IPLs in the WTC Finals.
Why did Mitchell Johnson criticize Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon?
Mitchell Johnson Openly criticising things like Josh Hazlewood, Hazlewood’s late return to the IPL suggested that his focus and accuracy were not lacking in his return with the red ball.
Josh Hazlewood missed the first test since Border-Gavaskar Trophyand the WTC Finals were after his comeback match jury.
As Johnson suggested, Josh Hazlewood’s practice session and time at the red ball would have given the WTC Finals more advantages. The latter’s preference for IPL surprised him.
Some South African and Australian players did not return to the IPL
When you like Marco Jansen, Ryan Rickelton and Mitchell Stark We decided to go back early, but Josh Hazlewood was the only one who played to the end of the IPL. The Australian did a rather notable job in two innings, but bowling out South Africa With a score of 138, eight of the 10 wickets were shared between Starc and Skipper’s Pat Cummins.
Mitchell Johnson has identified the Australian attack that needs to look for future options, and his comments have sparked a lot of concern among players these days. His focus is mainly on Hazlewood. Nathan Lyonthe veteran spinner finished with numbers 34-7-85-2 and 34-7-78-0 respectively, failing to hope for an impact from the two greats.
“We’ve seen concerns about Hazellewood’s fitness in recent years. His decision to prioritize returning to the Indian Premier League, which was delayed in preparing for his national team, has raised eyebrows.” Johnson wrote Western Australia. “Lyon didn’t look like the best on the third day either.
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Hazellwood and Lyon respond well to Johnson’s claims.
Josh Hazlewood was one of the first to respond to the criticism he faced. In full respect for Mitchell Johnson’s legacy in the game, Hazlewood argued that the current Australian bowling lineup, consisting of Cummins, Stark, himself and Nathan Lyon, is constantly trying to evolve according to the standards of the new game.
“I think criticism is part of, and part of, playing in Australia. Everyone is giving their right to their opinions, but I don’t think we’re done,” Hazlewood said.
He added, “You’ve seen the way we adapted to conditions and formats. There’s still a lot of offers.”
Nathan Lyon had a much more measured approach, along with the importance of balancing and experiencing young people along with highlighting the Australian internal review cycle, as well as maintaining a spirit of competitiveness, maintaining every bowler from seafarer to spinner.
To quote Lyon, “People talk about change, but our experience in bowling groups is one of our biggest strengths.”
Clearly, from the statements of two modern greats, Australian Cricket, Hazelewood and Lyon, they say they don’t rely on past successes and are always looking to do their best.