Jhye Richardson joins Yorkshire for start of County Championship

Australian fast bowler available for first six rounds of the County Championship

Yorkshire have bolstered their early season pace attack with the acquisition of Australian fast bowler Jhye Richardson.

The 29-year old will be available for the first block of Rothesay County Championship fixtures, which amounts to six matches through to the middle of May. At this juncture, it seems unlikely he will play all of them, with Cricket Australia keen to manage Richardson's workloads as a nationally contracted player given his injury history.

The 29-year old earned his fourth Test cap during the recent Ashes series, and has 13 dismissals at 21.00, and has played 37 times for Australia across all international formats. Though this will be his first stint in county cricket, Richardson will be joined by some familiar faces at Headingley with fellow Western Australians Sam Whiteman and AJ Tye having signed for the club this year.

Richardson has featured just twice for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield this season, both of which have come this month, with six wickets at 34.16. His appearance against England in the Boxing Day Test - his only Ashes appearance - was his first Test for Australia in four years. He went on to help Perth Scorchers to a sixth Big Bash League title.

"I'm really pleased to be joining Yorkshire," said Richardson in a statement released by the county. "The history of the club and of Headingley goes without saying so to be coming here and playing red ball cricket for the first time is an immense privilege.

"Speaking with the coaches gave me a great sense of what the group are looking to achieve this year and I'm ready to get over and get started."

Gavin Hamilton, Yorkshire's general manager of cricket, added: "Jhye is a very impressive bowler who has performed exceptionally well, and he will really complement the team for that important first part of the season.

"His skillsets are ones suited to English conditions, and he can make things happen with that ability to push his speed into the high 80s.

"Getting Jhye is a huge boost for us, and his quality underlines our ambition to build a squad capable of seriously competing in the County Championship. He's a proven player and we're thrilled to have secured him".

The move boosts Yorkshire's pace attack for the start of their 2026 Division One campaign, adding to the signing of Dutch allrounder Logan Van Beek for the opening eight rounds of the season. Last week, seamer Jack White signed an extended deal until 2028 after 42 dismissals at 23.14 during an impressive debut season.