Scott Boland will step up and uncapped Brendan Doggett is tipped for a high-stakes debut to try to shore up the loss of a combined 604 Test wickets of experience.
'It's on track and pulling up pretty well. (I'm) half a chance for the next game.'
A calf injury forced Josh Hazlewood to miss being part of Australia's World Test Championship win two years ago and the fast bowler is keen to avoid a second such heartbreak.
'I think the Indigenous community in AFL and rugby are so big and hopefully one day Aboriginals in cricket can be just as big.'
Richardson has, so far, played three Test matches since making his debut in 2018-19. The pacer has picked up 11 wickets at an average of 22.09.
Konstas, 20, misses out after a poor tour with the bat in the West Indies, while Weatherald has been included after topping the Sheffield Shield runs list
Usman Khawaja picked as Australia announce squad for Sydney Test against England
Mitchell Starc, who picked up 26 wickets in four matches with an average of 17.42, has moved one rung up to share the second spot with Pakistan spinner Noman Ali.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 1st Ashes Test played in Perth on Friday.
Former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri firmly believes Australia should select experienced pacer Josh Hazlewood ahead of Scott Boland for the WTC Final against South Africa in June.
Not Cummins, not Starc, this bowler was the difference in the end for Australia, reckons Ravichandran Ashwin
Australia captain Pat Cummins is back bowling multiple overs on a reduced run-up and has targeted returning to the team for the second Ashes Test against England, a day-nighter in Brisbane starting on December 4.
'I am still in the low 140s, so I am not concerned'
Regular captain Pat Cummins was named in the Australia squad on Wednesday for the third Ashes Test against England, a strong indication that the inspirational fast bowler will see his first action of the series in Adelaide next week.
Joe Root has reclaimed the top spot in the ICC Men's Test Batting Rankings after his stellar efforts helped England secure a 22-run victory over India at Lord's, according to the official website of the ICC.
Images from Day 4 of the fourth Test between Australia and India at the MCG on Sunday.
Joe Root's Australian hoodoo is over. The England batter scored his first Test century in Australia, an unbeaten 135 off 202 balls, rescuing his side after a shaky start in the second Ashes Test at Brisbane's Gabba and steering England to 325 for nine following captain Ben Stokes' decision to bat first.
Steve Smith returns to action in the Boxing Day Test against England as Australia opted to include four fast bowlers in their 12-man squad.
Concerns that senior players would pull out of the tour due to security issues after both England and New Zealand withdrew from tours of Pakistan late last year have proven unfounded.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 3rd Ashes Test played between Australia and England at the MCG on Tuesday.
With skipper Pat Cummins already out of the series opener because of a back injury, Australia are expected to send out Hazlewood with Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland as their pace attack.
Plucked from obscurity when called up by selectors on Christmas Eve, the 32-year-old Victoria paceman finished with outrageous innings figures of 6-7 in four overs, sending his home crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground into delirium.
'They're those little moments as a squad that I think have got us across the line to four wins this series.'
'It's a double-edged sword, but I'm enjoying it.'
Travis Head proved England's nemesis once again as he scored his second century of the Ashes to carry Australia toward a seemingly inevitable series triumph on day three at Adelaide Oval on Friday.
Australia pacer Michael Neser found day one of his maiden Boxing Day Test a dream come true.
Spinner Todd Murphy has been called into the Australia squad in place of the injured Nathan Lyon for this week's fourth Ashes Test, while captain Pat Cummins will skip the rest of the series as his back issue is managed.
Paceman Josh Hazlewood has brushed off worries about Australia's ageing attack for the Ashes, saying he personally feels as good as he has in a long time and that the unit's experience of bowling together is a major advantage for the team.
Nitish Reddy's straight drive off Scott Boland that carried him past his maiden Test hundred has convinced the Australian pacer about the young Indian batter's potential with the bat.
Starc further commented that Doggett could handle the pressure of the Ashes series, as he seemed to be the third pacer in Australia's attack.
A wicket-laden Boxing Day Test at the MCG triggered widespread debate, with former cricketers from both Australia and England questioning whether the pitch offered far too much for the bowlers.
Less than two weeks after being dismissed as a "dud" Down Under, Joe Root finally shrugged the monkey off his back with a first Test century in Australia on Thursday to breathe life into England's Ashes campaign.
England batter Joe Root defended fellow teammate Jamie Smith for his dismissal in the first innings of the final Sydney Test
Their last eight Tests in Perth have all been defeats, with the most recent setback a bitter innings and 41-run capitulation in 2017 that saw Joe Root's team surrender the urn.
Former No. 1-ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne will be pushed up in the order to open alongside Usman Khawaja.
Boland experienced English conditions on a tour with an Indigenous team of cricketers in 2018 and Cummins said he was convinced the 34-year-old would not need to overhaul his bowling approach to succeed.
Boland credited his intense rehabilitation for getting him back in the national reckoning.
The hosts lost six wickets in the first session for 94 runs after resuming on four for no loss on Day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne.
Glenn Maxwell's hopes of reviving his Test career may be over after the all-rounder missed out on selection in Australia's much-changed squad for the Sri Lanka tour.
'...there was a time there where it could have been 250 or 270 (run lead) or maybe even less there for a bit.'
