Perth Scorchers star Jhye Richardson has tipped the club’s new-look bowling attack to “surprise a few people” after losing the two greatest wicket-takers in club history.

Richardson will return to the side for Friday night’s clash with Brisbane Heat at the Gabba after missing Sunday’s victory over Sydney Sixers while training with Australia’s Test squad.

The Scorchers showed some frailties with the ball in the win over the Sixers, but debutant Brody Couch and returning quick Joel Paris impressed in their first hit-outs this season.

It means mystery surrounds who will come out of the side for Richardson, with Mahli Beardman a chance to miss out unless the Scorchers re-jig their team balance and have allrounder Ashton Agar take up the No.7 role.

West Australian bowler Bryce Jackson missed out on the first game, but his highly-rated by Scorchers coaches, while stalwart Matt Kelly is also on the bench if needed. Title-winning import David Payne will return to the club in early January.

Andrew Tye and Jason Behrendorff, the two top wicket-takers in the club’s history, are both with Melbourne Renegades this season and speedster Lance Morris has been sidelined by a back injury.

In an interview before he returned to the side, Richardson told The West Australian he was excited for the Scorchers to be able to throw something different at batsmen across the Big Bash League.

“I think the exciting part about having fresh faces and a little bit of unknown is it brings a whole new skillset to the group,” he said.

“As a Scorchers bowling unit you knew what you were going to get, with guys like Dorff and AJ who we’d had for a long time and Lance being out this year, it is definitely a new look, but a new look brings new skills, which I think is really cool.

“The really cool thing is we’ve got a lot of ball speed this year. Our bowlers, all of them know how to swing the ball a long way, they have a lot of good change-ups.”

A lot of that ball speed comes from Couch — the whippy quick who can push beyond 145km/h and took 2-12 from two overs against the Sixers — and 20-year-old pace prodigy Beardman, as well as Richardson himself.

Richardson said he can’t wait to see Beardman given more responsibility this summer.

“The best way for him moving forward is to get out in the middle and learn and get put under pressure,” he said.

“For someone like Mahli who has got all the skills, the test for him is going to be knowing when to use them and knowing the best scenario for him to bring out all of the skills he has got.

“I’m actually really keen to see him bowl with the new ball. We’ve been watching him for a few years now, swinging it round corners and bowling quickly, so I think that on the big stage will surprise a few people.”

Richardson said having genuine pace in a side makes a big difference in Perth.

“I think at Optus, definitely, it definitely plays a part,” he said.

“The thing is if you have ball speed alone, it’s probably not quite enough. If you’ve got ball speed and the ability to do something with it as well, that’s when it’s dangerous.

“We know that Lance, for example, has got immense ball speed but we know that he can swing the ball and he’s got some really good change-ups as well and the same goes for this bowling group this year.

“We know they’ve got ball speed but we know they’ve got the speed to back it up as well.

“We know how important that is at Optus, particularly with the dimensions of the ground, knowing that it’s quite long square and how useful our bouncer can be at that venue ... ball speed goes hand-in-hand with playing there.”

Jackson — an Albany product who has played 12 one-day matches for WA, including a six-wicket haul — is the only member of the pace troupe yet to debut. That’s a good chance to change this summer.

“He bowls 140 and swings the ball a long way. There’s not much better skill that you can have,” Richardson said of his teammate.