Josh Kempton: Jhye Richardson should play plenty of Test cricket next year despite missing national contract

He might have lost his national contract, but don’t discount the possibility of Jhye Richardson playing plenty of Test cricket over the next 12 months. The selection panel’s decision to hand Brendan Doggett and Todd Murphy deals over the WA quick is puzzling. Doggett was workmanlike in the Ashes but does not have Richardson’s ceiling, while Murphy being left out for last year’s Sydney Test raised serious questions over how highly he is regarded by the Test side’s brains trust. On Wednesday, Bailey’s justification of the move included an assessment Richardson had not yet quite recovered the ball speed he had before opting to undergo major shoulder surgery last year. That may be true, but he is getting better with every game he plays and now has a more resilient body, having ticked every box in his lengthy recovery. He featured in three of WA’s four post-Christmas Sheffield Shield games and his figures belied how well he bowled. Richardson was understood to be disappointed after being told he had lost his CA contract, but the talk around the WACA Ground is that he is excited to re-integrate into the State program and prove how good he is all over again. He will not have to wait long to do so, having now departed for a stint in England with Yorkshire in a move he was understood to have made with CA’s encouragement. Even though CA now do not have as much of a say over his workload, he is decidedly unlikely to feature in each of the six County Championship games within a seven-week span he has been signed for. But the deal will present more invaluable opportunities to build rhythm. Australia’s first two Tests of the contract period against Bangladesh in Darwin and Mackay may be played on low, slow pitches unsuitable for Richardson, but an ensuing three-Test assignment in South Africa will suit his traits to a tee. With Bailey reaffirming players outside the list will be given chances in an unprecedented run of one red-ball game after another, it is eminently possible he has played the required three Tests to earn an upgrade to a contract by the time the home summer starts in December.