Steve Smith will be back in action as Australia chose to include four fast bowlers in their 12-man squad for the Boxing Day Test against England, with spinner Todd Murphy—who was drafted in to replace Nathan Lyon—not securing a spot.
Following excellent domestic success following shoulder surgery, fast bowler Jhye Richardson—who hasn’t played in the longest format since 2021—was brought back.
With Australia aiming for an all-pace attack, Michael Neser, who participated in the pink-ball match, and Brendan Doggett, who participated in the first two Tests, have both been included.
“You just got to play what surface you’re presented with,” Smith, who missed the Adelaide Test due to a bout of vertigo, told reporters on Thursday.
“The pitch has 10mm of grass, quite furry, quite green. I dare say it’s going to offer similar conditions to today, quite cold and overcast. So, there’s going to be quite a bit of movement. This one looks like it’s going to offer a fair bit of assistance for the seam bowlers and the weather throughout the week looks conducive for that too.”
Richardson, a 29-year-old left-arm bowler, last played in the red-ball format against England in December 2021, where he helped his team win by 275 runs by taking five wickets.
“It’s exciting to see Richardson back into the fold. He’s had a pretty long layoff with injury, and we know the skills he can possess. He’s done it against England before in an Ashes. We’ve seen when he’s had the opportunity at this level, he’s been outstanding,” Smith said.
Josh Inglis has been replaced by veteran Usman Khawaja, who replaced Smith at the last minute and scored 82 and 40 in the previous Test.
“(It was) fortunate that Usman was able to come in and play the way he did in that first innings. We all thought he played really nicely last week, he’s putting the pressure on when he needed to, and he absorbed it when he needed to. He’s got that No.5 spot right now. Cam (Cameron Green) with the way his whole package is set up helps us out at seven as well.”
With a 3-0 lead in the five-Test series, Australia have already retained the urn.
Australia XII for fourth Test: Travis Head, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson
