Which Locals to Look Out For This Test Summer

And we’ll be the first to see them back in action when the opening NRMA Test between Australia and Pakistan gets underway at Perth Stadium on 14 December.

The make-up of the Test squad has been determined, with Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green and Lance Morris in the mix for selection. 

A couple more West Aussies are also knocking on the door for selection. 

Mitchell Marsh

The Australian selectors love a fast-bowling allrounder capable of match-winning contributions with bat and ball.

Marsh, the incumbent number six, offers precisely that skillset.

The 32-year-old finished last year’s Ashes campaign averaging 50 after six innings – the highest average of any Australian batter.

He announced his return to the Test side with a swashbuckling run-a-ball 118 in Leeds conditions tailormade for England’s quicks, before combatting similarly challenging circumstances to post a half-century in Manchester.

Marsh’s World Cup campaign – featuring enormous centuries against Bangladesh (177 not out from 132 balls) and Pakistan (121 from 108) – reinforced his credentials as a player of immense ability, and a pivotal figure of the upcoming Test summer. 

Cameron Green

Like Marsh, Green possesses the rare ability to bat in the top six and offer valuable relief to Australia’s quicks.

A rising star of the national setup, Green was replaced by Marsh in the Test side after suffering a minor hamstring injury during The Ashes.

Prior to that, the 24-year-old from Subiaco-Floreat had accumulated 1,075 Test runs at 33.59 and collected 30 wickets at 36.03 from 24 Tests.

He struck his maiden Test century against India in Ahmedabad and ripped through South Africa in last year’s Boxing Day Test to collect 5-27.

Blessed with height and agility, Green’s ability to generate significant bounce from a good length could trouble a Pakistan line-up accustomed to lower and slower playing surfaces.

Green is also widely regarded as one of Australia's finest gully fielders, using his unrivalled reach to catch anything within touching distance.

Josh Inglis

Few batters – let alone wicketkeeper-batters – are as dynamic as Inglis when in full flight.

Inglis proved as much during a recent match against India, needing just 47 deliveries to blast the fastest T20I century by an Australian.

Prior to that series, the diminutive but powerful right-hander announced himself as Australia’s preferred short-form wicketkeeper during the World Cup.   

That reputation was enhanced by a string of near-perfect games behind the stumps and composed batting in several tricky scenarios.

One such example is Inglis’ measured 28 against in the semifinal against South Africa; an innings which steadied a ship that was on the brink of capsizing.

In red ball cricket, the Joondalup product has cracked 2,466 runs at 32.88 and completed 179 dismissals (176 catches, three stumpings) in 52 games.

Alex Carey is the Test incumbent, but Inglis will be ready to go if a spot becomes available. 

Lance Morris

Once dubbed ‘The Wild Thing’, speedster Lance Morris’ vastly improved control has seen him rocket into Test calculations.

Morris has always offered raw speed – reaching 153km/h in some Sheffield Shield contests – and possesses the ability to sustain his pace for long periods.

Now, to the chagrin of his opponents, Morris has added consistency of line and length to the mix, applying pressure by presenting fewer scoring opportunities.

All told, the 25-year-old Scarborough quick has collected 74 First Class wickets at 25.44, with the remarkable strike rate of 42.4.

This includes 31 scalps at 19.96 during WA’s title-winning 2022-23 Marsh Sheffield Shield campaign, when Morris struck once every six overs.  

He is contracted by Cricket Australia, has featured in several extended Australia Test squads, and will get an opportunity before long.

Here’s hoping that chance comes this summer, on a famously fast and bouncy Perth Stadium pitch.

Jhye Richardson

Like Morris, Richardson represents the next wave of Australian fast bowlers.

The whippy right-armer has been hampered by a variety of injuries in recent years, the latest a dislocated right shoulder sustained during a Toyota second XI match against South Australia.

But Richardson has finally returned to the Sheffield Shield side and is thriving, collecting first innings figures of 4-36 from 23 overs against a strong Queensland batting lineup featuring Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw and Joe Burns.

His three Tests to date have yielded 11 wickets at 22.09, while the 27-year-old’s numbers for Australia in limited overs cricket make for equally compelling reading.

Quick and accurate bowlers capable of swinging the ball both ways don’t grow on trees, making Richardson an enticing proposition as the summer evolves.