Jhye Richardson has become the latest player to confirm his return to Australian cricket, joining up with the Perth Scorchers squad for the Top End T20 tournament in Darwin. It will be the first game back on home soil for Richardson since January and another important step in his recovery from injury.
Richardson is the standout in what has otherwise been a young team, including fringe players from the BBL and the WA teams, with some talents from the WA academy. Having secured a Cricket Australia contract in March, Richardson has been on a cautious recovery path since he injured himself during the BBL. He played one game for the Delhi Capitals in this year’s IPL and attended an Australia training camp in Brisbane last week.
Despite his progress, selectors have taken a long-term approach regarding Richardson and decided to leave him out of the upcoming tour against Scotland and England. The decision was taken so he fully recovered from all his injuries and came back to full fitness. Earlier, Richardson was to make an ODI comeback against the West Indies last season before a side strain dashed those hopes.
National selector George Bailey confirmed that Richardson is now “fit and firing” and ready for match opportunities. To join him in the squad will be another quick, Matt Kelly, whose season was also made short by injury, and the batter Sam Fanning takes on captaincy duties. The recent Western Australia recruit Baxter Holt, who has moved from New South Wales, has been added to the squad.
Top End T20 tournament will help Richardson gain momentum
According to stand-in coach Tim MacDonald, the Top End T20 tournament presents an excellent opportunity for Richardson and Kelly to regain some form in a competitive environment. Both of these players were talked about highly as being key members of the future of not only the Scorchers but also the WA team.
“We also see this tournament as an opportunity for Jhye and Kells [Matt Kelly] to find touch in a competitive environment. They didn’t play a lot of cricket last year but they’re a big part of what we do at the Scorchers and WA, so we’re looking forward to seeing both of them back in action.”
The Top End competition includes sides such as the Northern Territory Strike, Pakistan A, ACT, the Melbourne Renegades, and Melbourne Stars—not to forget a Bangladesh High-Performance side. If assembled, that kind of lineup will give strong momentum to guys like Richardson to test their recoveries and to other emerging talents to be showcased on a big platform.
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