Jon Holland and Jhye Richardson have mixed feelings after receiving Test call-ups

Cricket Australia (CA) recently announced a 15-man squad for the four-match Test series against the Proteas in South Africa, with the first Test match starting on March 1, 2018. There were a few surprise picks in the squad which included, right-arm fast bowler Jhye Richardson receiving his maiden Test call-up and left-arm spinner Jon Holland being called back to the side as the second spinner in the team alongside Nathan Lyon.

Both the latest entrants had some mixed reaction after being called-up to the national side. Holland made his Test debut in Sri Lanka in 2016 and featured in only two Test matches in which he claimed 5 wickets. He was selected in the team ahead of Ashton Agar who was included in the Australian team for the final Ashes Test. On the other hand, Richardson received his maiden call-up after a great domestic season which surely impressed the national selectors.

It was a good shock for me: Holland

The left-arm spinner was quite shocked when he received a phone call from Trevor Hohns, CA chief selector and thought that he must not have been selected in the squad. But then after a bit, Holland gave him a call back with the great news that he was included in the national squad once again. The 30-year-old spinner revealed that he won’t let go this big opportunity and will make the best of it if given a chance in the Test series.

“I was in my car driving home, screened the call and then gave Trevor a call back a little bit later. I did see (his name) but I thought it would have been bad news … I waited a little bit and then called him back. It was a bit of a shock, a good shock. It’s not something you expect to come along. I’m not sure what the selectors are thinking. But to get called up, I’m not going to knock it back,” said Holland in a conversation with 3aw as quoted by ICC’s official website.

Richardson hopes to get the job done

The fast bowler noted that a lot of the people would not back him because of the lack of experience at this level. However, he hopes to get the job done after being rich in confidence to partner along with the current Australian bowling attack, which was highly impressive in the Ashes 2017-18.

“There’s going to be a lot of people that put me down for not having the experience at this sort of level but if I can go in being as confident as I am right now I think I’ll be able to get the job done,” said Richardson in a conversation with AAP.