Perth, Aug 14 (IANS) Australia fast bowler Jhye Richardson said he remains hopeful of featuring in this year’s Ashes despite only bowling for the first time on Tuesday since his latest shoulder surgery but admitted that there’s still ‘a lot of water to go under the bridge’ before he is ready for Test cricket.

Richardson, 28, underwent a third operation on his right shoulder in January to address repeated dislocations and has not played Test cricket since taking a maiden five-wicket haul in the 2021 Ashes game in Adelaide. Since that game, Richardson’s career has been hampered by injuries, including a hamstring surgery in 2024, and having to overcome mental health challenges.

“Some were good, some were bad, and some hit the side net and things like that. I was a little bit rusty but it’s a good sign. We’re hitting the milestones that we planned out at the start and while it has been really slow, things are looking good.

“As nice as it would be (to play in the Ashes), there is a lot of water to go under the bridge before then. We’re not counting out Ashes cricket, but there’s a long process that has started and has been ongoing and there is a lot to go through before then. Things are looking good for the summer and I should be up and ready to go,” Richardson was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo on Thursday.

Though Richardson said he is targeting a return for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, he could not confirm the exact dates. “These are still ongoing conversations. Things that you don’t necessarily plan for can pop up, you can plateau a little bit in terms of progress.”

“Shield cricket is definitely on the radar, whether it’s game one, two, three, four, five, six, whichever it is, I’m hoping there will be some Shield cricket at some stage and hopefully some cricket for Fremantle and some second XI cricket amongst that as well,” he said.

The fast bowler did say that white-ball cricket would likely be part of his build-up. “I think white-ball cricket is always good to build the loads for red-ball cricket. We know that bowling 10 overs at high intensity really helps. And match time is something that you can’t necessarily get in the nets. We know that that intensity is going to be important, so I’d say there’d be some white-ball cricket.”

Richardson’s fielding also remains an issue, with him having limited throwing ability since his first shoulder dislocation in 2019. The latest surgery aimed to restore his shoulder’s stability should help him get back to his best fielding abilities.

“The way that it’s presenting at the moment is that it is presenting stable, which is obviously a nice feeling after all the issues that I’ve dealt with over the last few years. Throwing is going to be unknown.

“We know that. It’s obviously a long process to get back, sort of 12-18 months plus to know where it’s really going to be at. But at this stage seven months post surgery, things are looking good,” concluded Richardson.

–IANS

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