Kane Richardson pushes T20 World Cup case with match-winning Hundred performance

Australia’s Kane Richardson has pushed his case for T20 World Cup selection with another Player of the Match performance in England.

Kane Richardson of Birmingham Phoenix. Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images

Australian paceman Kane Richardson has pushed his case for T20 World Cup selection with another Player of the Match performance in The Hundred on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old seamer took three wickets and claimed two catches against the Oval Invincibles to help the Birmingham Phoenix secure a 10-run victory in London.

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Richardson knocked over young gun Jordan Cox and Invincibles captain Sam Billings in consecutive deliveries to swing momentum back in his side’s favour during the run chase.

The South Australian conceded just 22 runs from his 20-delivery spell, helping the Phoenix defend their first-innings total of 6/166.

Richardson was assisted by England quick Tom Helm, who claimed remarkable figures of 3/11 from his 20 balls.

Cox top-scored for the Invincibles with 32, with all-rounder Tom Curran blasting 30 off 12 balls in an entertaining late cameo.
“It is always nice to win and that is a tough ground to defend on to be honest,” Richardson said after the win.

“Feedback at halfway was there was pace and bounce in the wicket but the way we shut it down when they were coming pretty hard at the end there … was nice.

“Tom Helm that over he was pretty class, the Curran boys were coming and to get them both out is match-winning.
“They came as hard as we knew they would, so it was a great win.”

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— The Hundred (@thehundred) August 23, 2022

Earlier, Birmingham captain Moeen Ali and powerhouse batter Liam Livingstone combined for a 69-run partnership for the third wicket, scoring 42 (25) and 45 (32) respectively.

Australian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade contributed a handy 21 off 12 balls that featured two fours and a six.

Invincibles seamer Matt Milnes was the chief destroyer with the ball, finishing with figures of 3/32.

“We felt we were a little under par actually, we just couldn’t get going,” Ali confessed after the victory.

“But I thought we bowled really, really well tonight, the seamers were fantastic.

“You have some sort of plan but a lot of the time it is gut feel and you try and see who is the best bowler to bowl at that time.

“I think when you have games like that and you defend once, twice or three times you get a lot of confidence going forward.

“It was a huge win tonight. With the standard of the teams in this competition, every match is tough.”

Kane Richardson of Birmingham Phoenix. Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images

Richardson, who has represented Australia in 33 T20Is since making his international debut in 2013, is currently the second-highest wicket-taker of this year’s Hundred with 10 scalps at 11.60 from four matches.

His strike rate of 9.0 is the lowest in the competition of players with at least three wickets to their name.

Richardson was also awarded Player of the Match honours following Birmingham’s four-run victory over the Welsh Fire in Cardiff 10 days earlier, where he took 2/15 in a crucial 20-ball spell.

The right-armer, who signed for Queensland earlier this year, was a member of Australia’s squad for last year’s T20 World Cup triumph in the United Arab Emirates, but he is fighting to keep his spot for the upcoming campaign on home soil.

Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are locks in the 15-player squad, which is expected to be announced next week, while Richardson, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis and Jhye Richardson are competing for the reserve seamer role.

However, Richardson’s recent form in The Hundred has undeniably boosted his chances of a recall.

The Phoenix will next face the Manchester Originals on Monday morning, with the first ball scheduled for 4am AEST.