Hazlewood reaches 300 in his 76th Test, and Australia end day three 67 behind Bangladesh

Josh Hazlewood had the best morning of his career in Darwin and Australia are still losing the Test. Both things are true, and the second one is the part that will keep the home dressing room up. He took 6 for 89 to become the ninth Australian to reach 300 Test wickets, and it still cost Australia a first-innings deficit of 228.

The 300th came in his 26th over

The wicket itself was a good one. Mehidy Hasan Miraz went at a ball on the up, got a thin edge and the keeper took it, and Hazlewood had the number that has been sitting a few wickets away for most of a year. He finished with the sixth and last when Ebadot Hossain was caught behind to end the innings, his fourth six-wicket haul in Tests and his first in nine years. In between he had Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Hasan Mahmud and Taijul Islam.

It has taken him 76 Tests. He arrived with 5 for 68 against India at the Gabba in December 2014 and has spent the years since being the least-discussed member of the best bowling attack in the world, which is roughly how he seems to like it. Injuries have kept him out of a large chunk of Australia’s recent Tests, so the milestone came slower than it should have.

His average is 24.02. Of the nine Australians who have reached 300, only Glenn McGrath at 21.64, Pat Cummins at 22.21 and Dennis Lillee at 23.92 have done it more cheaply.

Four of them, in the same attack

The number that should actually be framed is this one. Hazlewood joins Nathan Lyon, Cummins and Mitchell Starc, and no Test side has ever fielded four bowlers who all played together and all reached 300 wickets. Not the West Indies of the eighties, not anybody. Australia have four of them on the same team sheet.

Scott Boland, who has spent years bowling alongside him, put the case simply enough. “He’s got all the attributes all fast bowlers would love to have, like he’s 6 foot 5 or 6, can bowl 140km/h, puts the ball on a 10 cent piece, can move the ball both ways,” he said. Travis Head went for the quieter version: “He’s a quiet achiever and goes about his work and he just gels in so well. He’s just relentless always.”

Hazlewood, asked about it, did what he usually does. “You don’t really think about those sort of milestones when you’re playing,” he said. “It’s probably something you look back on at the end.”

Bangladesh made 426, and that is the score that matters

Australia were bowled out for 198 on day one, the lowest total they have made against Bangladesh. Bangladesh answered with 426. Tanzid Hasan made 101, his first Test hundred, Shanto made 84 and Mehidy 65, and by the time the innings closed the lead was 228.

Hazlewood’s six wickets were the reason it was not worse.

Australia closed day three still behind

They finished on 161 for 4 and are 67 runs short of making Bangladesh bat again. Cameron Green is 43 not out, Alex Carey 19. Hasan Mahmud took both openers cheaply, Jake Weatherald for nought and Head for 17, both chopping on, and Mehidy removed Steve Smith for 44 to hand the day back to Bangladesh.

Marnus Labuschagne made 31. Nobody in the top four went past fifty, which against this attack, on this surface, is the whole problem.

What is actually at stake

Bangladesh have beaten Australia once in a Test, at Mirpur in 2017, by 20 runs, with Shakib Al Hasan taking ten wickets in the match. They have never won a Test in Australia. Two days remain, Green and Carey are together, and if Australia lose four more quickly the game is gone.

Hazlewood will still have his 300. It is a strange way to get it.

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