Pace ace happy in comeback with ball
AUSTRALIAN fast bowler Jhye Richardson gave the green light to his return from a shoulder injury in Darwin yesterday.
Richardson’s 1-67 from 10 overs may not look good on paper, particularly when his 16 wides and four no-balls are taken into account. But for the 22-year-old West Australian, the end justified the means and that meant no pain from the shoulder he dislocated in Pakistan three months ago.
What was a game-day fitness test for a late call-up to the Ashes squad in England got the positive result Richardson was looking for.
“I actually felt a bit nervous ... being the first game back in three or four months,” he said.
“Obviously there’s no trip to England yet. I didn’t get picked in the initial squad but that’s OK, (this) is the first step in ticking the box to know I’m OK to play cricket again.
“I haven’t really bowled off a full run yet, so it was exciting on a personal level just to know I can be out there again.”
Richardson said his right shoulder felt “really, really good” even if he did not bowl at full pace.
“I wasn’t expecting to bowl at 145km/h, but the shoulder feels good, the telltale sign will be (today) when I wake up,” he said. “As soon as the first ball came out I gave a little whisper to the (Cricket Australia) guy down there to see what I was bowling at.
“It was not as fast as I can bowl. I averaged in the mid 130s and got up to 137, 138, 139km/h and that’s a good sign for me on how the shoulder is going.”