After recovering well from shoulder surgery, Jhye Richardson is in the running to be part of Australia’s team for the Boxing Day Test.
Since the Ashes won in Adelaide, Pat Cummins is anticipated to miss Melbourne and possibly the remainder of the series, leaving a gap in the pace attack. Michael Neser, who claimed five wickets in Brisbane, and Brendan Doggett, who featured earlier in the series, would also be eligible to return to the starting lineup, but Jhye Richardson is reportedly extremely close to being considered, according to ESPNcricinfo.
Although he was not formally a member of the squad, Jhye Richardson trained with the Test group before to Adelaide.
Nathan Lyon, who is sidelined for the series due to a hamstring injury, must also be replaced by Australia. Although Corey Rocchiccioli of Western Australia might receive a maiden call-up, Todd Murphy is probably the front-runner. Matt Kuhnemann, a left-arm spinner, had a successful tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year and also travelled to the West Indies.
If Richardson’s official comeback to a Test team is confirmed, it will be precisely a year since his previous appearance, which was in the Boxing Day Test against India. He was sidelined for about a year after deciding to have shoulder surgery to address long-standing problems. For a long time, the selectors had hoped he would be considered for the Ashes’ later stages.
In recent months, he has gradually returned to action, first playing in grade cricket before facing the England Lions as a member of a Cricket Australia XI. After that, he played for Australia A against the Lions, increasing his workload and taking five wickets in 26 overs.
Due to his inclusion in the Test team, Richardson was unable to play in the Perth Scorchers’ opening BBL match; however, he returned for the historic match versus the Brisbane Heat at the Gabba. He removed Colin Munro with his first ball and went too far in claiming Matt Renshaw.
Due to injuries, Jhye Richardson has only participated in three Test matches since making his debut in 2018–19, taking 11 wickets at 22.09.
Cummins acknowledged that it was unlikely he would back up with an Ashes victory after making a triumphant comeback in Adelaide. “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 stated. “Now that the series has been won, there might be a sense of job’s done and let’s reassess the risk.”
However, Cummins stated that it was doubtful that either Scott Boland or Mitchell Starc would be rested if there were no injury concerns. “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.”
The selectors will also need to decide how to create room for Steven Smith, who will take over as captain in Cummins’ absence, if he fully recovers from his vertigo issues in Adelaide. Following his last-minute recall, Usman Khawaja scored 82 on 40 and might have done enough to maintain his position ahead of Josh Inglis.
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