Spinner Todd Murphy and paceman Jhye Richardson are in line for a Boxing Day Test recall after being added to Australia’s squad, as Nathan Lyon faces surgery and a lengthy period out with his hamstring injury.
Murphy pipped Western Australia off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli and Tasmania’s left-armer Matt Kuhnemann for a place in the 15-player squad named on Tuesday, which is missing skipper Pat Cummins and the hamstrung Lyon.
With Steve Smith set to return as captain, Australia will make at least three changes to the team that retained the urn in Adelaide.
Murphy had been in the spin wilderness after missing the final two Tests of the Sri Lanka tour then being overlooked for a central contract and selection in Australia’s squads for the world Test championship final and the tour of the Caribbean.
His selection is a sign selectors still view him as the heir apparent to Lyon, at least for Tests on home soil, ahead of Kuhnemann, who has had success on tours to the subcontinent.
Selectors showed their hand when they named Murphy in the Australia A squad for the recent matches against the touring England Lions.
Lyon faces an “extended period”, Cricket Australia said, on the sidelines after his hamstring tear, his second major soft tissue injury in 2½ years. CA gave no specific timeframe but it is likely to be months. Australia’s next Test series will be at home in the Top End against Bangladesh, likely in August.
With the Ashes won, Cummins, as expected, is sitting out the marquee Test after his hit-and-run mission in Adelaide “as part of his ongoing management plan”.
The injury-prone but highly talented Richardson last wore the baggy green in the Adelaide Test of the 2021-22 Ashes. He was last in the Test squad for the Sydney Test against India before having surgery on his troublesome shoulder.
Richardson’s express pace and movement in the air and off the seam is highly valued by selectors. In his return to red-ball cricket this summer he has progressed from grade cricket to playing for a Cricket Australia XI and Australia A against the English Lions – bowling 26 overs for the match and taking 4-35 in the first innings.
