Jackson Barrett: Ashes Boxing Day Test appearance could turbocharge Jhye Richardson’s Test career

For half a decade Jhye Richardson has been Australian cricket’s “what-if” player.

What if he wasn’t plagued by injuries? What if he’d kicked on after his impressive debut? What if he hadn’t been stuck behind one of the greatest fast-bowling groups we’ve ever seen.

If he plays on Boxing Day, Richardson could become Australia’s wow-factor.

He’s quick, he’s skilful and he now looms as the wildcard of the stacked Aussie pace attack as they race towards a new era.

The 29-year-old West Australian — at his best — pushes 145km/h, swings the ball both ways and can do damage off the seam. He has showed all of those tricks while training with the Test squad over the past two weeks.

Being shorter in stature he also offers a different trajectory to the first-choice attack of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and even Scott Boland, which shouldn’t be underrated.

All four of those players will likely have their eyes on the 2027 tour of India. It’s this great Test team’s final frontier.

But before then is a full-to-the-brim Test schedule that includes the mid-year visit of Bangladesh and then a heavyweight series against South Africa, where pace is king.

Cummins has played one Test in this Ashes series and Hazlewood has missed it altogether.

They will need to continue to pick and choose where and who they play between now and the tour of India.

And while Michael Neser has become a reliable Test contributor who will knock the door down again to play on Boxing Day and Brendan Doggett impressed in the first two matches of the series, Richardson has a fast-pass to the front of the queue.

It was after consultation with Australian coach Andrew McDonald and captain Cummins that Richardson cut his season short earlier this year to have a shoulder surgery.

They wanted him right for the Ashes and he was firmly part of their plans.

Now Richardson has the chance to show why, and if can stay fit, remain part of those plans for a long time.