HE'S the kid from Bendemeer who has made a big impression on the world of international cricket.
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The Leader's Billy Jupp chronicles the rise of one of Australia's favourite modern-day cricketers.
Any keen punter will tell you it's the long-term bets that make you the most nervous.
None more so than when you lay down your hard-earned on the future of a 15-year-old kid.
However, as the family and friends of Josh Hazlewood found out when they laid a 50-to-1 bet on the then-teenager making it to the Australian ranks, long-term bets are always the most satisfying.
"The bet was made by a few guys from around town and I'm still yet to actually find out who made money on that one," Hazlewood said.
"Apparently when the group of them were in England, they made the bet that I would go on to play for Australia.
"It was apparently 50-to-1 odds. It would have brought a decent return. I am glad I could help them out."
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Ever since those formative years in Bendemeer and Tamworth district cricket, it has been a thrilling ride for the man affectionately known as the Bendemeer Bullet.
Making his Tamworth first-grade debut at the tender age of 14, Hazlewood achieved great success en route to becoming the youngest paceman ever picked for NSW in the Sheffield Shield, at the age of 17.
From there, the honours kept coming: Australian one-day selection in 2010, being handed his baggy green by Glenn McGrath in 2014, being named Australian Test vice-captain recently.
However, like all stories, Hazlewood's is best told from the start.
The early years
"I think one of my fondest memories from back here [Tamworth] is probably winning the Davidson Shield with Oxley High School [in 2008]," Hazlewood said.
"It's right up there in terms of many great memories I have playing cricket as a kid.
"To see a group of boys from the country take on and beat all of the sporting high schools from Sydney was a pretty special moment."
Hazlewood also has fond memories of his time playing for Tamworth District Cricket Association club Old Boys.
"Playing in three grand finals in a row in my last three years there was pretty special," he said.
"We were lucky enough to win one of them and that's something I'll always remember."
While the Tamworth cricket scene may have changed since Hazlewood was a teenager, the memories of facing some of the region's best bowlers is fresh in his mind.
"I think my first game was against West Tamworth and my brother [Aaron] had already been playing for one or two years," he said.
"I can remember asking him 'is Tim Kensell playing?'
"I didn't want to face him because he was too quick.
"Luckily for me he didn't end up playing that day, although I came across him many times in the next few years.
"Playing with men at such a young age means you learn pretty quickly," he added, "and they didn't take it easy on me, but I was able to switch roles a bit the older I got."
The Shield years
At the tender age of 17, Hazlewood became the youngest pacemen ever to play for NSW in the Sheffield Shield.
Hazlewood's first-class debut was a baptism of fire, against a touring New Zealand side at the SCG in 2008.
"It [the debut] kind of sneaked up on me," Hazlewood said.
"I had just finished my last HSC exam and I was having lunch with a few of my mates when [former Test player] Brian Taber called, telling me I had been picked in the tour game.
"The next week, I was down in Sydney training with the Blues and playing against the likes of [Kiwi internationals] Dan Vettori and Ross Taylor.
"I was thrown straight in the deep end and I just remember how hard four-day cricket was on the body to start with."
The baggy green
Less than two years after becoming the youngest fast bowler to play for NSW, and playing for Australia in the under-19 World Cup, Hazlewood broke new ground, becoming the youngest fast bowler to play one-day international cricket for Australia.
The then-19-year-old's debut was a shining light in Australia's one-day tour of England in 2010 and was a glimpse of what Australian cricket lovers would see for many years to come.
"When I made my debut, I was plucked out of domestic cricket and I don't think I was quite ready then," Hazlewood said.
"It was good to be on that tour and I really learned a lot on that tour of England."
It was under the blazing sun at the Gabba, in Brisbane in December of 2014, where Hazlewood became the 440th man selected to play Test cricket for Australia.
"I had my whole family there and it was honestly a dream come true to have Glenn McGrath hand me my baggy green," Hazlewood said.
"The one thing that really stands out to me from that first day of Test cricket is that it was remarkably hot.
"It was tough, but I came back the next day and claimed five wickets in the first innings, which was very exciting."
While the heat of Brisbane sticks with Hazlewood to this day, he said his experience in Bangladesh surpasses it.
"Bangladesh is comfortably the hottest place I have ever played," he said.
"It doesn't look like it's that hot on the weather apps or on the TV, but trust me, mate, Chittagong and Dhaka were stupidly hot.
"Sri Lanka and India are also pretty hot places to play, but they can also be the most picturesque places to play as well.
"I think you take the good with the bad on that one."
World Cup glory
Just three months after his Test debut, Hazlewood was instrumental in helping Australia secure its fifth World Cup title.
On home shores, the Aussies suffered just the one loss to eventual finalists New Zealand, on their way to securing the Cup in front of a packed MCG crowd.
While Hazlewood bagged two wickets for Australia, it is the story of his celebrating prowess that lives on in cricket folklore.
As told by then Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin on a Melbourne radio station, Hazlewood was "a dangerous man to celebrate with" and must have "hollow legs".
Hazlewood responded to Haddin's compliments with humility.
"That sort of thing can be true for the right occasion," he said.
"I think I get it from my father.
"You could say it comes from good genetics.
"However, it is nice for Hads [Haddin] to say that, given he was also there until stumps. Not a bad effort from an old bloke, really."
The future
The road ahead for Hazlewood ironically starts in Tamworth, as he prepares for Australia's World Cup and Ashes campaigns later this year by playing for Old Boys.
"I am playing for Old Boys as a batsman while I recover from a back injury," he said.
"From there, I am confident I will be right to face the challenge of the tours in England.
"It will be a bit challenging to go from bowling with the white kookaburra ball in the one-day games to the red dukes ball in the Tests.
"But in the coming months I will do a bit of practice with both and we should be good to go."
Hazlewood will have added responsibility in the Ashes campaign after he was recently named as vice-captain of the Australian Test team.
"It's an honour to be the Test side's vice-captain, I am really enjoying working alongside Tim Paine in the leadership positions," Hazlewood said.
"He has taken over in a pretty tough time for sure, but he is a talented, experienced player and it has been great to work alongside him.
"You can rest assured I'll be doing everything I can to get us a good result this winter."
- Australia will begin it's World Cup campaign against Afghanistan on June 1 at Bristol.
- The Ashes series will follow the World Cup with the first test beginning on August 1 at Edgbaston.
