The Bendemeer Bullet - story behind Josh Hazlewood's nickname

If you are a fast-bowling aficionado, you would probably be accustomed to the names of Whispering Death, Big Bird, Biffy, Rawalpindi Express and the list would go onto star a few more. Old-school fast bowling was all about brutal pace and an accurate blend of line and length.

Let’s fast forward the clock by a few years and Australia, a country that has always produced decent fast bowlers, came forth with a new trident, a troika of three fast bowling stars who would play an instrumental role in uplifting the nation from the unfathomable depths of despair.

The trident was led by Mitchell Starc with Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins being his wingmen. However, the tables turned and the contest got even fiercer between Cummins and Hazlewood with the duo bringing varied aspects of a pace attack. As we talked about old-school fast bowlers earlier in this story, there is no shame to say that Josh Hazlewood is one such old-school expressman who comes with brutal pace laced with the weapons of the new.

For the first time in the antiquity of the tournament, Hazlewood will be playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Australian’s searing heat will be unreservedly hurling down a few nasty bullets on the flat tracks of Mumbai.

He is not someone who would rack up crazy variations, would put in an additional effort to smack up deliveries adrift of his premeditated line and length but he is someone who would continue to strive to hit the deck hard in the same old spot and would leave the batters frustrated in their attempts to swing their arms.

Also, Hazlewood prefers keeping it straight, simple, and in the line of the stumps. Bowling at 140 clicks way too frequently, he brings a menacing blend of toe-crushers and bumpers, leaving the batters very little time to adjust their stance and respond. That is what makes the Australian quick a screaming pick for the Challengers.

Also, since we already mentioned Whispering Death and the Big Bird, you should also know that Josh Hazlewood comes with a nickname that would give you the shivers - The Bendemeer Bullet.

Well, one may argue that why would one call him a bullet when his deliveries aren’t close to 145? This has a varied answer though. The bullet was derived from the fact that he is a fast bowler and even though he isn’t particularly the kind of fast that underlines the menace of fast bowling, he houses the capability of hitting the deck real hard. The name of “Bendemeer” however, was the place where he was raised, a small country town north of Tamworth in New South Wales.

Royal Challengers Bangalore will be riding heavily on their illustrious bowling unit as they take the field in the fifteenth edition of the annual franchise extravaganza.