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Richardson eyes Sheffield Shield return, keeps Ashes dream flickering

Jhye Richardson’s latest comeback trail has finally hit a tangible marker. On Tuesday the Western Australia fast bowled his first delivery since January’s right-shoulder operation – the third such procedure on that joint – and, by his own admission, it was a mixed bag.

“Some were good, some were bad and some hit the side net and things like that. I was a little bit rusty but it’s good signs,” Richardson said in Perth on Wednesday. The 28-year-old was speaking at an event counting down 100 days to the Perth Ashes Test, and while the marketing team talked up November, Richardson stayed grounded. “We’re hitting the milestones that we planned out at the start and while it has been really slow, things are looking good.”

The bare facts first. Australia’s five-Test Ashes summer begins on 21 November. The Sheffield Shield returns in late September, little more than seven weeks away. Richardson has not bowled in a competitive match since dislocating the same shoulder while celebrating a wicket last November. His last Test appearance came in the 2021-22 Ashes, when he produced a maiden five-for in Adelaide. Hamstring surgery in 2024 and periods away from the game for mental-health reasons have added to the stop-start feel of a career still brimming with promise.

Even so, he is refusing to write off the biggest series on the calendar. “As nice as it would be [to play in the Ashes], there is a lot of water to go under the bridge before then. We’re not counting out Ashes cricket, but there’s a long process that has started and has been ongoing and there is a lot to go through before then. Things are looking good for the summer and I should be up and ready to go.”

The next checkpoint is competitive overs for Western Australia or, failing that, Fremantle in grade cricket or the state second XI. Coach Adam Voges and the state medical staff will want to see him string together 20-plus overs across a match before any talk of a Test recall gathers pace. At present WA’s first one-day cup outing falls on 21 September, followed by a Shield opener against New South Wales at the WACA. Those fixtures leave a small but realistic window, provided there are no further setbacks.

“These are still ongoing conversations,” Richardson explained. “Things that you don’t necessarily plan for can pop up, you can plateau a little bit in terms of progress. Shield cricket is definitely on the radar, whether it’s game one, two, three, four, five, six, whichever it is, I’m hoping there will be some Shield cricket at some stage and hopefully some cricket for Fremantle and some second XI cricket amongst that as well.”

Workload management looms large. Richardson’s support staff see limited-overs cricket, with its shorter spells at higher intensity, as a useful stepping-stone back towards the rigours of the red-ball game. “I think white-ball cricket is always good to build the loads for red-ball cricket. We know that bowling 10 overs at high intensity really helps. And match time is something that you can’t necessarily get in the nets. We know that that intensity is going to be important, so I’d say there’d be some white-ball cricket.”

Selectors, mindful of recent injuries to Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, would gladly welcome another quick into the Ashes pool, but equally they are wary of rushing a bowler with a fragile shoulder. Richardson’s willingness to acknowledge both ambition and caution should therefore please all parties.

In truth the calendar may do the deciding for him. Two competitive Shield matches before the first Test would allow just enough evidence for a recall; anything less and an early-season Big Bash cameo might be the more sensible step. For now, the fast bowler is happy simply to be back with a ball in hand – and for the time being that is a small victory in itself.

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