As Starc’s allies were bunted, a luckless star mounted his case for a recall

3 months ago 4

As Australia’s quicks struggled to penetrate Joe Root’s defences at the Gabba, a luckless paceman was mounting his case for a Test recall eight kilometres down the road.

Injury has been the only thing keeping Jhye Richardson from announcing himself as a bona fide international star – a recurring shoulder issue throughout his career culminating in surgery this January to improve its stability.

Having slowly worked his way back towards fitness, unable to feature in the Sheffield Shield since November 2024, the 29-year-old issued a timely reminder of his credentials in tearing the heart out of the England Lions’ middle order at Allan Border Field.

Jhye Richardson has had a horror run with injuries.

Donning the Australia A colours on Friday, Richardson finished with figures of 4-35 in Brisbane as the Lions were all out for 166. He was ably supported by Queensland’s Xavier Bartlett (2-48) and off-spinner Todd Murphy (2-7).

Richardson has not played a Test since the last Ashes series in Australia, in which he took a fourth-innings five-wicket haul in Adelaide back in 2021, but he trained with the national squad in Perth ahead of the opening Test.

While Mitchell Starc again dazzled, finishing with 6-75 to launch the second Test, his supporting cast failed to make an impact.

Two-game rookie Brendan Doggett (1-81), recalled veteran Michael Neser (1-43), and even cult hero Scott Boland (1-87) were well blunted by Root’s masterclass en route to his classy unbeaten 138 before his side were dismissed for 334 early on day two.

In Doggett’s defence, it appeared he had been instructed to pepper the English batsmen with short-pitch bowling – a tactic that felt tiresome, given how comfortable Root looked on the hook shot.

Neser was also the most economical of the Australians, going at 3.07 runs an over, with 16 of those coming in two overs during his opening spell.

Starc felt the statistics were not reflective of the quality of bowling.

“Joe obviously batted really well for his hundred, and I thought there were some really good patches of bowling there that probably went unrewarded,” he said.

“We know how good Scotty is. Nes and Doggy are a little less experienced on the Test scene but are two guys who have had a lot of experience.”

While it would take a brave call to parachute Richardson into the Test squad immediately ahead of the third clash in Adelaide, particularly with skipper Pat Cummins tipped to make his comeback from a back complaint, his form will undoubtedly have selectors on alert.

Josh Hazlewood is also not expected to be fit from a hamstring injury until the back-end of the Ashes, opening the door for Richardson should another injury strike.

The form of Murphy would also have caught the Australian hierarchy’s eye, with the Victorian contending with Gold Coast product Matthew Kuhnemann to be considered Nathan Lyon’s heir apparent.

Lyon was a shock omission from the second Test in favour of Neser, a move chief selector George Bailey admitted upset the 38-year-old. It was also a ploy that caught England opener Zak Crawley, who scored 76 on day one, by surprise.

It is the second time in three games Australia’s greatest off-spinner has been left out of the side – the last time being the pink ball day-night clash in the West Indies. His demotion follows his lack of involvement at Perth Stadium, where he had taken 29 wickets from five Tests leading into the Ashes but bowled just two overs for that match.

At the Gabba, he averages just 28.8 with the ball.

Given his history, his absence no doubt raised questions around the country regarding his place in the Australian line-up, despite Bailey insisting it was a one-off situation.

Starc, meanwhile, was confident that Lyon would remain a focal point of the nation’s attack.

“It’s a tough one for Nath. Everyone wants to play every game, and I’m sure he’ll be disappointed not to be playing this week. It’s certainly not a reflection on his skills,” Starc said.

“They certainly looked at the conditions and made the choice of our attack for these conditions.”

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