Jhye Richardson just happy to be back on the road to reclaiming Test spot
Jhye Richardson’s road back to Test contention, after injury ruled him out of the World Cup and Ashes, is one crowded by a host of rival quicks. But the young talent is starting the journey from a good place.
Cricket
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Jhye Richardson believes having fun holds the key to his hopes of breaking back into Australia’s star-studded Test pace line-up this summer.
Richardson made an instant impact in his Test debut in January, snaring 3-26 and 2-19 against Sri Lanka in Brisbane.
But his World Cup and Ashes hopes were dashed when he dislocated his shoulder while fielding during a one-day clash for Australia in March. The 23-year-old will make his competitive return on Saturday when he lines up for Western Australia in their season-opening one-day clash with Victoria at the WACA Ground.
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Richardson’s injury lay-off came during a period when all of Australia’s gun pace bowlers returned to full fitness.
Such was Australia’s pace depth during the Ashes, Mitchell Starc could only squeeze in for one Test.
With Josh Hazlewood, James Pattinson, Pat Cummins, Starc and veteran Peter Siddle all in good nick, Richardson knows he’ll have to put his best foot forward this summer to squeeze back into the Test side.
And his plan? To enjoy himself out on the field.
“Cricket is such a mental game. When you’re trying so hard and trying everything possible, you’re often not bowling at your best,” Richardson said.
“You’re bowling at your best when you’re calm and having fun and enjoying it. That’s going to be the main focus for me - have fun.
“You hear a lot of people ask what a bowler was thinking about when they’ve taken a five-for. A lot of the time they say, ‘I don’t know’, because often they’re just having fun and not thinking about anything.
“If I can do that, then I think the performances will look after themselves.”
Richardson said his bowling speed was back to normal during a recent training camp with Test great Glenn McGrath in India.
“I actually got told to rein it back a bit,” Richardson said. “There were a couple of times there where I got a bit annoyed at the batsmen and tried to fire it up a bit.
“We had the speed gun there as well, so mid 140s is what I’m back to, which is what I normally bowl at.
“The only thing that I’m a bit restricted at - and it’s always the last thing to come back - is throwing.
“I can still throw, but I don’t think I’ll be fielding on the boundary any time soon.”