Australian pace-bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have termed the close bond shared by the bowling attack off the field as the factor that makes them unstoppable.
“All attacks are very different, but one thing unique about this group is we’ve all grown up together. We’ve played a lot of cricket together … we’ve grown up through the ranks together (and) spent so much time with each other off the field," said Starc.
“We’re best mates off the field as well and I think that comes to life in our cricket (with) how much we enjoy playing alongside each other. I think the whole group really complements each other really well."
"We do different things and when you’ve got Nathan Lyon doing the job he does, it makes the job of the quicks so much easier. We’ve got a left-armer, two right-armers who do completely different things … and Nathan speaks for himself. It’s just a great group to be part of,” he added.
Fellow pace-bowler Josh Hazlewood further termed the close relationship shared by the bowlers as the factor which had played a key role behind their success.
“We’ve played a lot of cricket together now and we all know each other very well off the field as well as on the field. It’s just about knowing how each other’s going about it and when we might need to have a word, or (not because) they know what they’re doing," he said.
“It’s that experience of playing together, those sorts of relationships form, and you just become a lot closer. Bowling is very much a combined effort from everyone rather than just one good spell here and there. It’s about maintaining pressure for 90 overs a day and if the four of us are on, we know we can do that for days on end,” added Hazlewood.
However, coach Justin Langer believes that the unit has so far failed to fire at the level which it is capable of in the Test series against India. At the same time, he is optimistic that they will hit the same heights in the upcoming clashes at Melbourne or Sydney.
“All of them would admit that they haven’t quite nailed it yet in this series, so that’s exciting. “We saw it in the Ashes last year, there were times they were all over England because they functioned so well as a group,” said Langer.
“I’m really excited, whether it’s in this Test match or in Sydney, when those guys bowl as that unit … I can’t wait to see that,” he concluded.
