Starc said this week that age is not a barrier to reloading the same Ashes defense group in 18 months’ time, but selectors will plan for all scenarios.
“When you have your best five at the same age and it’s not 25 but 35 or more, it’s a concern.
Taylor wants to see Richardson – who likes ex-Test seamer Ryan Harris for his ability to target the over at decent pace – in the Top End series against Bangladesh in August, even if Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood are all available.
Richardson is not in the 12 that appeared in the Sydney Test, seventh in the Australian quick order, but was picked ahead of Neser and Boland when he was fit four years ago.
“I’d definitely like to see him in the squad and if there’s a hole I’d 100 per cent play him,” said Taylor, who has a philosophy of picking the best team available but with an eye on the future.
“I don’t know who will be available at that time. If everyone is fit and ready to go, it will be difficult.” [to leave anyone out].
Mark Taylor wants to see Jhye Richardson picked for the series against Bangladesh.Credit: Getty Images
“You can bet Josh will want to play because he missed the whole summer here. Scotty has done well again and will probably feel he’s missed enough. Pat will want to play even though he’s the one who missed a lot this summer. You want to keep him for the Aussie summer and India.”
“Test first, I’d pick my best team, then see how to rotate the bowlers and get one to Jhye for sure.”
National coach and selector Andrew McDonald said the importance the team placed on qualifying for the World Test Championship finals made it difficult to experiment with alleged dead rubbers, but also said there were “priority series” that took precedence over others.
After four injury-riddled years out, Richardson returned to the loose green in the Boxing Day Test, where he took two wickets – enough to make it a trivial reply as he topped Australia’s bowling averages – but failed to retain his place in Sydney.
Richardson is at best a handful of international batsmen with his combination of shear bounce and swing at over 140 kmph.
“I think Jhye Richardson is kind of key for us,” Taylor said. “Every time we’ve seen him play, he looks good.
Australia’s powerful attack has been the cornerstone of their success since McDonald took over as coach in 2022. They hold every available bilateral Test trophy, the 2023 World Cup and also won the 2021-23 WTC.
Taylor fears Australia face a similar predicament to the once-mighty West Indies, whose powers have waned when, instead of four brilliant quick runs, they were left with two and none after Courtney Walsh retired in 2001.
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“They definitely ran out of pitchers,” Taylor said. “At the same time, their batting has fallen off. Apart from Brian Lara, they haven’t produced a quality batsman for a while and they’re still looking. It could be a bit of both, but bowlers win you Test matches.”
“I always thought that West Indies, not that they had a bad batting line-up, they always had belief, I felt that if they were knocked down or they had a low score, they could beat you too.”
“That’s the benefit of a good bowling side. In a way it affects your bat subconsciously. If you have a good bowling side, you can be a bit more relaxed with the bat mentally because you have an attack that will dig you out of a hole if you need it.”
The selectors have come under fire at various stages this summer despite overseeing one of the most successful periods in Australian cricket.
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Test great Steve Waugh accused selectors chairman George Bailey of being incapable of making tough calls in early November.
This week, former Test seamer and current Cricket NSW director Stuart Clark, speaking on the ABC about not selecting spinner Todd Murphy at the SCG, said Bailey did not have the “gravitas” to manage Cummins, Steve Smith and McDonald.
Australia won the fifth Test by five wickets with all-rounder Beau Webster making an unbeaten 71 and taking three wickets with his part-time off-spinner.
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