If Australia is to win the World Cup, Richardson must play

As the World Cup passes its halfway point, pitches will begin to lose their life and start to become more of a batsmen’s paradise.

Too many similar bowlers can create a one-dimensional attack who would struggle in bat-friendly conditions.

Teams such as India have diverse bowlers such as Bhuveneshwar Kumar, a slower seam bowler and Jasprit Bumrah an electric fast bowler with all the tricks.

England has the pace and movement of Jofra Archer and the control and death bowling of Chris Woakes.

Australia, however, lack a strong death bowler with all the tricks. Nate Coulter-Nile and Patrick Cummins are too similar.

Both bowl in the mid one forties and rely upon swing and seam to take wickets, unlike Mitch Starc who can utilise sheer pace and pull out a searing yorker.

Australia need someone to partner Starc at the death, as neither Cummins nor Coulter-Nile have the ability to bowl economically or take death wickets.

Cummins averages 25.62 with a strike rate of 30, while Coulter-Nile averages 29.94 with a strike rate of 32.3.

Even though Kane Richardson’s average is higher at 31.2 and a strike rate of 33.6, he has the skills necessary to provide Aaron Finch with different options.

No denying Coulter-Nile has the ability to be a dominant one-day player in Australia, on the lifeless late tournament pitches of England, Australia needs a crafty bowler.

Adam Zampa or Nathan Lyon should be picked regularly as they provide another alternative for Finch on pitches that have a potential to spin.

(AAP Image/Darren England)

On a Trent bridge pitch that lacked pace and bounce, Bangladesh created wickets from a crafty part-time medium pacer who utilised changing his pace to dismiss the batsmen.

Soumya Sarker employed slower ball bouncers and tight bowling to create wickets, bowlers such as Hossain and Rahman lacked the potency necessary to take wickets.

While Coulter-Nile was effective at Trent Bridge with two wickets and an economy of 5.8, he is not the bowler Australia needs.

Cummins has been a consistent bowler, his ability to bowl with an old ball in Test matches and extract results makes him vital on lifeless pitches.

Whilst Coulter-Nile was exceptional against the West Indies, if the person picked at eighth is for his batting, the line-up is too bat heavy.

Bowlers must be picked for their bowling ability, if Australia’s batsmen cannot deliver, a bowler cannot be sacrificed in attempt to rectify their batting woes.

Australia’s 2015 World Cup-winning team had four exceptional bowlers in Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Mitch Johnson and James Faulkner.

Every bowler provided captain Michael Clarke with a different option, Faulkner with sublime death bowling and Johnson with the ability to bounce out a batsmen as strong as Virat Kohli.

Starc and Hazlewood, provided a left and right hand combination to open the bowling.

For Australia to remain competitive and to go deep into this World Cup, they must create a diverse bowling attack with the ability to consistently bowl at the death.