It turns out Josh Hazlewood was not only trying to impress selectors in the third Test at Headingley, in Leeds: his parents were at the ground.
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The Australian quick's elder brother, Aaron, revealed to the Leader that his Bendemeer-based parents, Trevor and Anne, watched on as Hazlewood took 5-30 overnight as England were dismissed for 67 in the first innings.
Aaron said: "This is actually their first Test; they didn't go to the first two [Tests] ... he's obviously put on a performance for them."
After being a shock omission from the World Cup (he had been sidelined for months with a back injury but had said he was fit to play) and then surprisingly left out of the first Ashes Test, Hazlewood is back doing what he does best: take wickets bowling an incisive line and length.
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He now has eight wickets since returning to the side in the second Test, inflating his career wicket tally to 167 in 45 Tests, at an average of 27.26. His return in the first innings of the third Test was his sixth five-wicket haul.
Aaron, a destructive Old Boys allrounder, said: "They obviously left him out of the first one [Test]. He's obviously proved his point since he came back in, which has been really good."
Aaron said his brother's bowling performance overnight showed he was back to his best. "I thought he bowled very well last night. He was very well-controlled, he hit the channels, he got a little bit of seam out of the pitch ... they [England] really had no idea for it."
The last time Trevor and Anne saw Hazlewood play was when he took part in a one-off match for his former club, Old Boys, in March.
