No shortage of quicks

Aussies opt for youngster knocked back as junior

JHYE Richardson was told by junior coaches he was too small to bowl fast.

Yet despite giving away the best part of a foot in height to the rest of the Australian attack, the 21-year-old has been backed in as the country’s new 145km/h enforcer to rattle South Africa.

Richardson was yesterday plucked from the same kind of obscurity as Pat Cummins was for the corresponding tour of South Africa in 2011 and with five Sheffield Shield matches under his belt the West Australian rookie is in the frame for a stunning debut in March.

The back seat of the bus reserved for Australia’s fast bowling cartel is the land of the giants with Mitchell Starc (197cm), Josh Hazlewood (196cm), Pat Cummins (192cm) and Jackson Bird (195cm) towering over batsmen.

Richardson stands at 178cm but he has been welcomed warmly into the fold following chronic injuries to high voltage options James Pattinson and Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Australia again overlooked South Australian Chadd Sayers because they felt he is too same-same to seamer Bird and so Richardson was called up because he bowls with the kind of speed that could see him fill the shoes of a Starc or Cummins if they were struck down by injury.

It’s a good thing Richardson didn’t listen to those telling him he wasn’t built for speed.

“(It happened) actually quite a lot,” he said. “I’m only 70-odd kg and 178cm tall so I’m not the biggest unit around.

“But it’s always something in your head that you always want to prove people wrong and I think that’s been my attitude from the start. If someone is going to beat me down, why not prove them wrong?”

Meanwhile, D’Arcy Short can be the next David Warner according to one of Australia’s greatest limited overs batsmen.

Twenty20 chief selector Mark Waugh yesterday called up Short and Gold Coast quick Billy Stanlake for the national T20 squad.