Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins has confirmed his team’s playing XI for the second Test of the Ashes 2021-22, starting December 16. Captain has informed that experienced opener David Warner has been declared fit for the much-awaited D/N Test in Adelaide and young speedster Jhye Richardson is about to make his return after Josh Hazlewood got injured.
The rest of Australia’s winning XI stays intact after they dominated the opening fixture at the Gabba and won by nine wickets inside four days. The Aussies have won all of their previous eight D/N Tests at home, including five out of five at the Adelaide Oval, where they bundled out India for 36 last summer.
Warner has been healing from sore ribs since being hurt by a bouncer from England allrounder Ben Stokes during the first Test at the Gabba. The left-hander grind his way to a 94 in the first innings of the Brisbane Test but opted not to bat in the second essay when Australia needed just 20 runs for a win.
Warner, a report from cricket.com.au stated, is doubtful for the optional training session scheduled on the eve of the game on December 15. But he is set to take part in the Test match.
“He’ll be right. He had a bat yesterday, batted with a bit of discomfort but knowing Davey, he’s not going to miss this one. Once adrenaline and everything kicks in, (he’ll be) a little bit sore but he’ll be fine.”
Cummins told reporters.
The return of Richardson is an exciting prospect for Australia as the young pacer makes his comeback to the Test match line-up after spending much of his time at the sidelines recovering from shoulder dislocations and subsequent surgeries.
Richardson made an encouraging start to his Test career when he took a five-fer in a D/N pink-ball fixture versus Sri Lanka in early 2019. But he injured his right shoulder while fielding later that year. He was considered a likely inclusion for the marquee 2019 World Cup in the UK but ended up missing from the action for a long time.
Apart from his two Tests, the 25-year-old quick has played 21 first-class matches and taken 90 wickets with an exceptional average of 21.11.
