Australia have already secured the Ashes 2025 urn, taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
With regular captain Pat Cummins taking a rest after the Ashes 2025 series win, Australia have turned to Jhye Richardson for the upcoming Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), starting December 26.
Richardson trained with the Test squad before the Adelaide Test. His video of bowling with a red ball in the nets was making headlines on social media. While the Western Australian bowler was not officially part of the group for the Adelaide Test, he is now set to replace Cummins for the penultimate Test. His recall comes almost a year after his last appearance in a Test squad, which was also for the Boxing Day Test against India in 2024, before he had surgery to recover from shoulder issues.
Since his return to cricket, Richardson has steadily increased his workload across different formats. After several club matches, he played for a Cricket Australia XI and then impressed for Australia A against the England Lions, snaring five wickets in 26 overs. The right-arm quick appeared for Perth Scorchers at the Big Bash League 2025-26, claiming a wicket off his first ball of the season against Brisbane Heat.
Richardson’s comeback adds a different dimension to Australia’s pace attack and marks a significant milestone in his recovery from injury, just in time for one of the most celebrated matches on the cricket calendar.
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Leading into the Ashes 2025, Pat Cummins was recovering from a stress injury in his lower back, which forced him to miss the white-ball series against South Africa and India at home. He further remained unavailable for the first two Tests of the ongoing five-match series against England. Captain Cummins made his comeback to competitive cricket during the Adelaide Test, where he led Australia to a thrilling win by 82 runs, claiming six wickets across two innings.
As the hosts retain the urn and take an unassailable 3-0 lead, Australia’s skipper has confirmed that he will miss the next Boxing Day Test. This left a significant gap in Australia’s pace attack, which was already missing Josh Hazlewood, for the crucial clash in Melbourne. Although Michael Neser, who picked fifer in the second Test, and Brendan Doggett, who played the first two Tests, are still in contention, Richardson’s name has gained traction among selectors after his smooth return from shoulder surgery.
Speaking at the post-match press conference after the last Test, Cummins suggested that managing his workload would be a priority now that the series is secured.
“We had a pretty aggressive build-up knowing that the Ashes were at stake, and we felt that was worth it,” Cummins said. “Now that the series has been won, there might be a sense of job done, and we can reassess the risk.”
Apart from Cummins, Australia are without the services of Nathan Lyon, who sustained a hamstring injury during the Adelaide Test, leaving the Australian selectors with several important decisions. For the seam group, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland are expected to keep their places. In Cummins’ absence, Steve Smith will be donning the captaincy hat as he fully recovers from the vertigo issues that ruled him out of the third Test.
Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
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