In the pantheon of Australian bowling greatness, Josh Hazlewood is a looming presence whose work, more often than not, glints with less attention than the flashier interventions of his peers. The gangly New South Wales seamer, who first appeared in Tests against India at Brisbane in 2014, has established a niche for himself as cricket's most primed-in destroyer—master craftsman who, rather than with brutal might, reduces batting orders to smithereens with scrupulous precision. Hazlewood started out as a swing bowler. But his development is more than that. He's become a multi-faceted weapon, introducing reverse swing and deadly bouncers to the party. While Mitchell Starc makes headlines roll and Pat Cummins gets talk of captaincy, Hazlewood goes about unobserved—just as deadly, always overlooked. His bowling scores are not only figures; they are instances when Australia's fate turned on his capacity to draw life out of dead pitches, to discover swing where conditions provided none, and to perform when his country most required him to do so.This analysis of Hazlewood's Top 5 Performances By Josh Hazlewood in Test Cricket uncovers not only figures, but stories of grit, ability, and the understated brilliance of truly great bowlers. Top 5 Performances By Josh Hazlewood in Test Cricket Rank Figures Opposition Venue Year Match Result 1 6/67 India Bengaluru 2017 Lost by 75 runs 2 6/70 New Zealand Adelaide 2015 Won by 3 wickets 3 6/89 South Africa Hobart 2016 Lost by innings & 80 runs 4 5/8 India Adelaide 2020 Won by 8 wickets 5 5/30 England Leeds 2019 Lost by 1 wicket Top 5 Performances By Josh Hazlewood in Test Cricket Detailed Analysis 6/67 vs India, 2017, Bengaluru Image Soure : AFP Hazlewood's career-best 6/67 came on cricket's most unexpected platform—Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium, a death ground for fast bowlers where spin usually holds sway. The feat overwhelms statistics. On a track set up to suit India's spin quartet, Hazlewood defied physics, conjuring movement and bounce that appeared to defy the laws of nature. His victims were set Indian batsmen supposed to perform in home conditions. Though keeping India to 274 in the second innings, Australia's batting weakness ensured Hazlewood's heroics could not stop the 75-run loss. The display proved his versatility—showing class is not restricted by conditions but transcends them. The spell is proof of skill triumphing over circumstance. Also Read | Worst XI of IPL 2025: Biggest Letdowns This Season 6/70 vs New Zealand, 2015, Adelaide Image Soure : Getty Images Adelaide's first day-night Test was the ideal platform for Hazlewood's genius to light up cricket's new frontier. His 6/70 in New Zealand's second innings not only brought about the win; it established the way fast bowling could be reimagined under lights. The pink ball required different skills—reading its performance under artificial light, accommodating altered swing patterns, learning new rhythms of play. Hazlewood met these challenges magnificently. Improving wickets of Tom Latham and Ross Taylor showed him to send good batsmen back when the situation demanded. Nine-wicket match haul won him the Player of the Match award, but more significantly, it cemented his status as a day-night cricket pioneer. Australia's three-wicket win was founded on Hazlewood—a performance that connected cricket's past tradition with its future innovation. 6/89 vs South Africa, 2016, Hobart Image Soure : Getty Images Sometimes great performances occur in losing causes, and Hazlewood’s 6/89 against South Africa at Hobart exemplifies this cruel irony. After Australia collapsed to just 85 in their first innings, the match seemed beyond salvation. Yet Hazlewood refused to surrender. His six-wicket haul included the prized scalps of Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis—two of world cricket’s most accomplished batsmen at their peak. The spell exemplified Hazlewood's mental toughness; whereas his teammates succumbed to pressure, he took his game to unprecedented levels. Even though he limited South Africa to 326, Australia's second-innings meltdown closed out an innings loss. The performance reiterated cricket's cruel reality—individual genius isn't always followed by team success. However, Hazlewood's performance continues to be a lesson in resilience under pressure. 5/8 vs India, 2020, Adelaide Image Soure : Getty Images Few bowling performances in cricket history have created seismic psychological resonance like Hazlewood's 5/8 in India's notorious 36 all-out collapse in Adelaide. It wasn't about mere statistics; it was about timing, pressure, and the art of picking mind weakness. When Australia was 53 runs behind after the first innings, the game was in the balance. Hazlewood capitalized on the moment with cruel accuracy. His send-offs of Ajinkya Rahane and Mayank Agarwal were not simply wickets—that they were mental sledgehammer blows that broke Indian morale. The spell went with ruthless effectiveness, each ball appearing to sap India's resolve even deeper. Australia's eight-wicket win that followed was just the numerical end to Hazlewood's mind game. This display showed how bowling can move beyond skill to become warfare of the mind. 5/30 vs England, 2019, Leeds Image Soure : Getty Images Leeds 2019 gave cricket one of its most dramatic stories, and Hazlewood's 5/30 was the start of that mayhem. His five-wicket strike brought England down for mere 67 runs, paving the way for what seemed to be easy Australian win. The numbers themselves—5/30—define bowling at its most effective and lethal. Every wicket fell to immaculate lines and lengths, demonstrating Hazlewood's dominance over English conditions. But cricket being the unpredictable game that it is, intervened in the form of Ben Stokes' remarkable unbeaten hundred that converted certain defeat into improbable triumph for England. Though Australia finally lost by a single wicket, Hazlewood's spell stands as a testament to his Ashes credentials. The effort underlined his capacity for controlling cricket's most pressure-cooker setting even when extraneous elements combined against eventual success. Also Read | 5 Players Kolkata Knight Riders Should Release Before IPL 2026 Conclusion Josh Hazlewood's Top 5 Performances By Josh Hazlewood in Test Cricket expose an artist masquerading as a sportsman. These spells rise above prosaic analysis—they are instances where talent intersected with opportunity, where stress gave way to performance, and where independent excellence shed light on team goals. From Bengaluru's spin-friendly pitches to Adelaide's trailblazing day-night weather, Hazlewood has persisted and thrived. His life is the embodiment of fast bowling's evolution under contemporary formats. No longer all about raw speed or traditional swing, the top seamers of today have to be virtuosos in many facets—reverse swing, variation of bounce, mind games, and tactics. Hazlewood is the epitome of this transformation. While his teammates hog the limelight, he collects results. His efforts are the best example that cricket's greatest assets are not always its showiest ones. Amongst Australia's bowling elite, Hazlewood is the steady craftsman whose solidity allows his more effusive teammates to thrive. These five innings demonstrate not only statistical dominance, but the understated brilliance characteristic of truly great players.