Josh Hazlewood falls into the trap of hilarious Barmy Army prank
Josh Hazlewood may be over the moon with how Australia's bowling unit performed in the opening Test match against England, but the quick appeared to fall victim to a sly Barmy Army prank.
Nathan Lyon was the star of Day Four as he took four wickets on Saturday morning, England collapsing from 2-220 to be all out for 297.
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Australia chased down the 20-run lead with the loss of just wicket.
Despite England facing a dismal day, the Barmy Army were up to their old tricks.
Hazlewood was fielding on the boundary on Day 4 when he apparently signed a photo of himself.
However, the Aussie quick obviously didn't have time to read the 'fine print'.
Underneath the photo read: "I Joshua ‘Joshie’ Hazlewood do solemnly swear that I knew it was sandpaper.”
Josh Hazlewood just signed this on the boundary, we knew it 🤣#Ashes pic.twitter.com/Nvx5Llz7ut
— England’s Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) December 11, 2021
The caption referred to the infamous sandpaper incident in Cape Town in 2018.
Bancroft was caught rubbing sandpaper on the ball during the match.
David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft all received lengthy bans for their role in the Cape Town incident.
Smith served his two-year ban from holding leadership positions, but was recently appointed vice-captain.
Hazlewood was part of the bowling quartet in that match, but was not reprimanded.
The quick has denied he had any knowledge of the incident and was cleared in an investigation.
Concerns over Josh Hazlewood fitness
On Day 3, fans around the country were left scratching their heads as Hazlewood was passed over with the Kookaburra as England piled on the runs.
Hazlewood was unused from the 29th over onwards and ended the day having bowled just eight overs.
Fans were left questioning why Hazlewood didn't bowl to Root, the quick has dismissed the England captain more than anyone in Test cricket - and remained fielding for the day.
However, following the victory on Day 4, Cummins addressed the Hazlewood mystery, but said the fast-bowler was fine.
"He was a little bit sore yesterday so we just tried to get him through. He pulled him up OK today," Cummins said after the match.
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