Hazlewood’s six-wicket masterclass seals Australia’s gritty Durban triumph

A patient plan, finished with precision

Josh Hazlewood’s career-best Test figures of 6/49 helped Australia finish off a hard-fought win in Durban, but one of his most telling contributions was the carefully plotted dismissal of Wiaan Mulder.

With the ball in its 67th over, Hazlewood had begun generating late movement away from the right-handers after previously drawing deliveries back in. Mulder had been well set on the fifth morning, while Aiden Markram had also survived a few testing moments. Hazlewood changed the pattern, noticing that Mulder was moving across his stumps and that the ball had twice passed close to his top glove as he looked to glance.

Hazlewood brought in a leg slip, positioned slightly wider, and shifted fine leg squarer. The next delivery landed fuller around middle stump and moved late, taking the edge. Alex Carey dived to his left and held the catch in his webbing, ending Mulder’s resistance.

Australia grind their way to another defining win

The dismissal was a product of patience and tactical adjustment rather than a spectacular delivery. Hazlewood later produced two more decisive moments, bowling Marco Jansen through the gate and beating Simon Harmer with a sharply rising ball.

The performance, the report argues, captured the character of Australia’s Test side under Pat Cummins: a team prepared to work through difficult passages, adjust its plans and trust its ability to find a way to win. The Durban result is placed alongside Australia’s Lahore victory in 2022 and their Melbourne win over India in 2024 as a marker of the side’s development.

Hazlewood, often working in the shadow of more celebrated teammates, took centre stage in Durban. His spell and the Mulder plan embodied a victory built not on domination, but on discipline, belief and a willingness to keep searching for an opening.