Jhye Richardson closing in on return to Australia's Test squad
Jhye Richardson is in the frame to be included in Australia’s squad for the Boxing Day Test following a successful recovery from shoulder surgery.Pat Cummins is expected to sit out Melbourne, and potentially the rest of the series, with the Ashes secured after victory in Adelaide, meaning there is a vacancy in the pace attack. Brendan Doggett and Michael Neser, who took a five-wicket haul in Brisbane, played earlier in the series and would also be in contention to return to the XI but ESPNcricinfo understands Richardson is very close to being in consideration.Richardson trained with the Test group ahead of Adelaide but was not officially part of the squad.Related
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Australia also need to replace Nathan Lyon who is out of the series with a hamstring injury. Todd Murphy is likely the frontrunner, although Western Australia’s Corey Rocchiccioli could earn a first call-up, while left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann had a successful tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year and toured the West Indies.Should Richardson’s official return to a Test squad be locked in, it would come exactly a year since he was last included, against India for the Boxing Day Test. Shortly after that, he opted to undergo shoulder surgery to fix long-standing issues and was ruled out of action for nearly 12 months. The selectors had long held hope that he would be in contention for the latter stages of the Ashes.He has made a gradual return to action in recent months, starting in grade cricket before playing for a Cricket Australia XI against England Lions. He then featured for Australia A against the Lions where he increased his workload, claiming five wickets across 26 overs.
Richardson missed Perth Scorchers’ first game of the BBL season due to being with the Test squad, but returned for the record-breaking clash against Brisbane Heat at the Gabba. He struck with his first ball to remove Colin Munro and would have claimed Matt Renshaw but overstepped.Richardson has only played three Tests since his debut in 2018-19, taking 11 wickets at 22.09, in a career hampered by injury.Having returned in a starring role in Adelaide, Cummins conceded it was unlikely he would back up with the Ashes won. “We had a pretty aggressive build-up knowing that it’s the Ashes there to be won and we thought that was worth it,” he said. “Now that the series has been won, there might be a sense of job’s done and let’s reassess the risk.”However, providing no injury concerns emerge, Cummins said it was unlikely either Mitchell Starc or Scott Boland would be rested. “Good luck to anyone telling Starcy or even Scotty Boland that they’re going to miss a Boxing Day Test if they’re fully fit.”Another decision the selectors will have to make is how to accommodate Steven Smith, who will resume the captaincy in Cummins’ absence, providing he is fully recovered from the vertigo problems he suffered in Adelaide. Usman Khawaja scored 82 on 40 after his last-minute recall and may have done enough to keep his place ahead of Josh Inglis.