Hazlewood outlines World Cup chances

As Australia's selectors anxiously wait to hear the extent of Jhye Richardson's shoulder injury, they will be pleased to hear experienced paceman Josh Hazlewood is confident he'll be fit in time for the World Cup.

Hazlewood's World Cup hopes were thrown into disarray when he was diagnosed with a back injury in January, which has seen him miss Australia's Tests against Sri Lanka and limited-overs tours to India and the UAE.

But the 28-year-old said he returned to bowling last week and is on track to be named in Australia's World Cup squad, which will be unveiled by April 23.

"When the squad gets announced I'll probably be 65-70 per cent (fit) and I've still got a good four or five weeks from that date to get ready to play one-day cricket," Hazlewood said on the latest episode of The Unplayable Podcast.

"We head up to Brisbane early May, there's a couple of games against New Zealand I believe – I don't think I'll be fit for those but the one-day warm-up games in England I think I'll be right.

"Cutting it a little bit close I guess but pretty confident."

Australia are set to face a New Zealand side at Allan Border Field as part of their World Cup preparations, with two official warm-up matches against England and Sri Lanka – both in Southampton – scheduled ahead of their first match against Afghanistan on June 1.

It doesn't leave Hazlewood much time or many matches to get up to speed for international cricket, but he said it usually takes "six to seven weeks" to be get his body conditioned for one-day cricket

In more good news, Hazlewood said fellow paceman Mitch Starc has also returned to bowling after suffering a pectoral injury in the Canberra Test against Sri Lanka.

Starc, the 2015 World Cup player of the tournament, has been sidelined since early February and was hopeful of a comeback in the UAE, but a setback delayed his return to the national side.

He will now ramp up his bowling workload ahead of the pre-tour World Cup camp in Brisbane in May.

"He (Starc) looks fine, he started bowling as well this week," Hazlewood said. "He's coming off not as big a break as me so won't take him long to get up and running.

"It's quite an unusual injury but someone who is so flexible like Mitch those things can happen.

"He seems to be heading in the right direction."

Hazlewood's positive injury update is a boost for the Australia's selectors after they watched promising young fast bowler Richardson dislocate his right bowling shoulder in the field during the second ODI in Sharjah on Sunday.

Richardson was sent home from the UAE to have further scans and end a supreme run this summer, which has seen him make his Test debut and establish himself as a first-choice bowler in all forms of the game.

"He obviously didn't read the 'fast bowlers' code of no diving'," joked Hazlewood.

"You hate seeing that with any player especially a young quick who has probably had the best summer of his life so far.

"In every format he's done the business."