The Ashes: Jhye Richardson set to take next step in comeback as other Australian fast bowlers suffer injuriesJosh KemptonThe West AustralianSun, 16 November 2025 5:38PMCommentsComments
Jhye Richardson’s build back to full fitness is gathering pace at the perfect time, with the WA speedster set to take the next step in his lengthy comeback from shoulder surgery as other Australian fast bowlers continue to go down injured.
On Friday, the WA speedster was named in a Cricket Australia XI squad for a four-day game against England Lions — the tourists’ ‘A’ side who completed a three-day contest against their senior counterparts on Saturday — at Lilac Hill.
The game will start on November 21, the same day The Ashes get under way with The West Test some 13km away at Optus Stadium.
Richardson opted to undergo stabilisation surgery in his troublesome right shoulder in January with the hope of improving his long-term injury outlook while still being available for the back end of The Ashes.
His first red-ball outing since last November is set to come as captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott watch the Test from the sidelines due to injury.
Cummins is on the mend from a bout of bone stress in his back, while Hazlewood and the uncapped Abbott both suffered hamstring injuries for New South Wales in the final Sheffield Shield round before the first Test.
In September, Australian coach Andrew McDonald name-checked Richardson when discussing Australia’s fast bowling depth for The Ashes, suggesting he has been earmarked to add to his three Tests, the last of which came in the 2021 Ashes.
“We’ve got Jhye Richardson returning from injury, (he) should be back somewhere in the middle of that Ashes as well if everything goes well, and at the moment things are going well,” McDonald said.
Richardson has returned to competitive cricket in recent weeks, featuring for Fremantle in their last three Premier Cricket one-day games.
He sent down eight wicketless overs as his side suffered an eight-wicket loss to Mt Lawley on Saturday.
The CA XI game will run concurrently with the fifth round of the Sheffield Shield, meaning the squad only features players currently outside of their States’ first-choice sides.
White-ball dasher Jake Fraser-McGurk is the other immediately recognisable name in a group which also includes WA batter Teague Wyllie, but CA said one non-playing member of Australia’s Test squad will also be added to the team.
WA’s Josh Inglis could feature in the game to get some more red-ball batting practice if he is not deemed to be required as a concussion substitute for the Test match.
Last week, the wicketkeeper-batter managed four and 28 in his first Sheffield Shield appearance in nearly a year as WA pinched a dramatic one-wicket win over Queensland at the WACA Ground.
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