Richardson backs Aussie experience

It wasn’t until Friday evening (AEDT) that the Aussies first trained together ahead of their opening match of the tournament against South Africa on October 23.

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Before that, the Aussies, many of whom have limited recent gametime to their names, had only been able to train from their hotel rooms.

But Richardson said the challenges posed by the pandemic had equipped Australia to cope with anything.

“We’ve learned in the last 18 months to be really agile,” the Aussie quick said.

“If this was our preparation two years ago we’d probably kick and scream and say it’s a problem but everyone’s gotten used to it now, it’s not an issue.

“Our group is so experienced and they’ve played for so long. You don’t lose your skill through lack of game time.

“Everyone’s so experienced and knows what they need to do so I don’t think it’ll be an issue at all.”

Prior to his arrival in the United Arab Emirates, Richardson had been in Adelaide training with South Australia. He admitted Friday’s session in 36-degree heat made him feel a long way from the City of Churches.

“That was tough yesterday with our first hitout. I think it was two o’clock in the afternoon so (the heat) was at its peak,” he said.

“I was ten balls into some bowling and I had to stop and grab a drink.

“It’s just that pure heat. Adelaide had one day over 20 (degrees) in the last few months so it wasn’t ideal preparation but there’s not much we can do about that.”

Richardson says he is backing the Aussie attack to adjust to the wickets in the UAE and Oman, which he expects will pose different challenges from those at home.

“I think some of the feedback from guys who played in the IPL is that afternoon games can be low-scoring, which most of our games will be,” he said.

“I don’t know what the right recipe will be in terms of bowling and whether it will be four or five specialist bowlers and who they will be.

“Whether that means quicks are still harder to play on those kinds of surfaces or if spin will play a bigger role, we’ll find out with our practice games.”

With the Aussie bowling line-up still to be finalised, Richardson said he would not be deterred if he missed out on selection, provided he made “the decision as hard as I can for the selectors”.

“On the surface, I would say that (the condition of the pitches) does suit myself,” he said.

“I’m just trying to back in what I have in my kitbag and just try to execute that the best I can and hopefully be ready to go in a week’s time if I get selected.

“The benefit of coming off not a lot of cricket is that any opportunity or train to play, blokes are going to jump at.

“If I don’t start in a week’s time, I’ll still be doing enough to get ready to play. I’m that keen to play.

“If I still don’t get picked, so be it, I’m happy to be at a World Cup with Australia.”