Cricket: I lost desire - Richardson

Mark Richardson

Mark Richardson reckons the tour of England might have robbed him of the energy to sustain his test cricket career.

Easily New Zealand's most idiosyncratic player of the present team, Richardson yesterday announced his retirement from all cricket, effective from the end of the upcoming State Championship match between Auckland and Canterbury.

The grafting opening batsman had long been making noises about winding up his career, but many had hoped to seem him finish the summer's home test commitments against Sri Lanka and Australia.

He said yesterday that the desire and enthusiasm to play the game at the highest level had faded, possibly because of the enormous stress he was under during the winter tour to England, which New Zealand lost 3-0.

A leaner than usual home campaign had prompted the left-hander to work on his batting around the clock, an investment that later paid a handsome dividend in the first test at Lord's, where he made 93 and 101.

"I think I left a fair chunk of myself on the park during that game," he said yesterday.

"I'd worked very hard to recover my form on that occasion, but I can't imagine putting myself through the same thing again. I just haven't got the necessary energy or desire to make it happen.

"Call it burn-out or whatever you like, but there's an awful amount of stress and anxiety involved at test level.

"There's a lot more to it than just turning up on the morning of the game and strapping on your pads."

Richardson said the only reason he had enjoyed reasonable success in the test arena was because he had allowed himself to be totally consumed by the game, not only in terms of his practice routines and batting, but also in terms of his mental preparation.

He said the difference now was that he wasn't prepared to live the game to such saturation levels any more.

"For 15 years, everything I've thought about and dreamed of had something to do with cricket. It was almost my life, and I was constantly thinking about it, whether it was at breakfast, lunch or dinner.

"But then I found myself not looking forward to the Bangladesh tour and even when I arrived in Australia I could feel that the desire wasn't quite as strong as it was."

As a consequence, the 38-test veteran had easily the worst series of his career, scoring 19 and 4 at Brisbane and 9 and 16 at Adelaide, for an overall series average of 12.

"I don't really think I was really giving it everything," he said of the Australian series.

"I mean, I was practising just as hard, and was just as anxious and nervous before I batted, but I just don't think I was carrying the same mental edge."

Richardson's retirement is sure to cause a headache for New Zealand coach John Bracewell because the test side are already under pressure from a poor annual record and will be seriously challenged in both the upcoming series at home.

The most likely scenario is that Michael Papps will earn a recall for the tests against Sri Lanka, with caretaker opener Mathew Sinclair possibly receiving a further extension in the position.

Richardson, who writes a column in the Herald on Sunday, said he was hoping to develop a fulltime career in print, radio and television media, but not necessarily only in cricket.

He said when he dwelt on his test experience, he always enjoyed remembering his early challenges in the 2000-01 season, when he established his place in the New Zealand team with a purple patch against South Africa, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

"I remember driving home after having a surf at Raglan and hearing on the radio that I'd been listed in the top 10 rankings of the world's test batsmen.


"I thought that was pretty cool. I remember punching the air and yelling, 'yes'."