Think twice before sledging our batters: Josh Hazlewood’s bold Ashes warning to England
Published - 27 Oct 2025, 06:29 PM | Updated - 27 Oct 2025, 06:31 PM
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Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood has sent out a strong message to England ahead of the highly anticipated Ashes 2025-26 series. Josh Hazlewood warned the England bowlers to think twice before trying to sledge the Australian batters during the upcoming high-voltage five-match Test series.
With the blockbuster five-match Test series set to begin on November 21 at the Optus Stadium in Perth, both teams are gearing up for the fiery series. England, known for their aggressive “Bazball” style, used tactical sledging to rattle India during their recent drawn Test series at home.
Josh Hazlewood warns England's verbal tactics will only backfire against Australia
But Hazlewood has made it clear that such tricks won’t work against the current Australian side. The experienced fast bowler said that most of the batters in the team, including Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green, have faced the English attack so many times that they wouldn’t even notice any verbal taunts coming their way in the upcoming Ashes 2025-26.
Read Also: Watch: Australian commentator breaks down as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma bid goodbye to Australia
The Australian speedster has explained that modern-day players are far more focused and mentally stronger than before. Hazlewood believes that sledging, which once played a huge role in on-field mind games, doesn’t really affect players in today’s era. In fact, the fast bowler said that sledging often backfires, as it motivates batters to perform even better under pressure.
Josh Hazlewood was quoted as saying by News Corp: “I would not sledge any of our batting order, to be honest. Especially someone like Marnus (Labuschagne) and Cam Green. They are so far into their own games and focused on their own batting that I don’t think they would ever hear it. I think a lot of batters are like that these days.”
Josh Hazlewood predicts an intense Ashes series
The Australian pacer also fired a warning that there may be heated moments in the upcoming Ashes series, but both sides are experienced enough to keep things under control and not let emotions spill over. Hazlewood expects tough competition throughout the five Test matches.
Hazlewood signed off by saying, “I am not sure how it will play out. There will be moments when it gets heated, but I think it will be pretty level across the five-test series. We are all quite experienced and realize it does not have much of an effect on people these days. You can still find the odd person it might affect, but most of the time it probably switches people on and makes them play better.”
Key Australian players battle fitness issues; Josh Hazlewood gears up for India T20Is
Notably, Hazlewood is currently gearing up for the five-match T20I series against India. However, the star pacer will play only three T20I games against India as part of Cricket Australia’s workload management tactic. They recently won the ODI series by a 2-1 margin against India at home.
On the other hand, Australia captain Pat Cummins is one of three key players dealing with injury concerns ahead of the upcoming Ashes series. Cameron Green was pulled out of the ODI series against India due to side soreness, while Beau Webster has been managing an ankle issue.
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