He’s only played 13 first-class matches in a career that started in 2015, but fast bowler Billy Stanlake has emerged as a contender for a Test call-up over Australia‘s packed next 12 months .

Stanlake, 31, returned to the Australia set-up earlier this year on the ODI tour of Pakistan and played his first international match in more than seven years when he featured in Rawalpindi at the end of May. He has been included for the upcoming series in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

However, he could also come into the mix for a Test role if Australia’s pace resources are stretched over the coming months.

“We’re certainly interested, yeah, absolutely,” chair of selectors George Bailey said on Tuesday. “[We are] not rushing at it and understanding that he’s missed a large chunk of it [red-ball cricket] over a period of time. But there’s some fundamentals in the way he goes about it and the skillset that I think at its best could certainly have a place at the Test level. So, that’s something that we will look to explore in the near future.”

In a career hit by injuries, Stanlake has never played more than four first-class games in a season, which came back in 2019-20, but featured three times for Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield last summer where he claimed nine wickets at 26.88, while overall in first-class cricket he has 40 wickets at 26.92.

His towering frame and ability to bowl at high pace have always made him an attractive proposition when fit, especially with the white ball. Stanlake made his international debut in 2017 and against Zimbabwe in 2018 claimed figures of 4-0-8-4 in a T20I. He went wicketless on his Australia comeback earlier this year, but the selectors have taken a keen interest.

“Billy really impressed in the most recent tour that he went on to Pakistan,” Bailey said. “So that was great to see him back and injury-free and performing.”

Quite how far down their depth charts Australia would need to go to make a call-up for Stanlake remains to be seen although Bailey hinted that extra pace options could be needed in India early next year. The recent Bangladesh series was the first two matches of what could be 21 Tests for the team by the start of next August.

Brendan Doggett and Jhye Richardson, who played in last season’s Ashes, have been included for the four-day leg of the Australia A tour to India and the selectors are always on the lookout for those who can push the speed gun. Of the younger generation, Mahli Beardman, who has been included in the Australia A one-day squad, and Queensland’s Callum Vidler are both making returns from back injuries.

Bailey cast doubt over whether Richardson, who played against England at the MCG, will ever be able to return to the top pace he showed in his younger days before a series of injuries interrupted his career, although stressed that doesn’t stop him having the chance of an international future.

“[The A tour] is a chance for him to get some first-class or red-ball loads under his belt again,” Bailey said. “Without projecting forward and knowing exactly what and who will be required on that Indian trip come early January, we’re going to need some depth in that area.

“He’s an incredibly skillful bowler, Jhye. I don’t know if he’ll ever get back to that sort of mid-140s pace that he had pre some of his shoulder injuries, but I don’t think he also necessarily needs to be at that to still have an enormous impact.

“The continual message to him, and hopefully what we start to see, is just that ability to back up from innings to innings and game to game and just be consistent around what that pace and what that execution looks like.”