Cricket: Richardson - From bad bowler to worthy batsman

Mark Richardson in action during the Auckland Aces. Picture / Greg Bowker

And so in one bound he was gone, the biggest comic-book superhero of the cricketing world, a batsman remembered as much for his one-piece lycra bodysuit as his battles against the best teams in the game.

Mark Richardson, one of international cricket's most fascinating case studies, leaves the game on his own terms, having played 38 tests for an average of 44.77, including four centuries, against Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and England.

Once a promising young spin bowler for Auckland, Richardson's remarkable story began when he transferred to Otago in the early 1990s and immediately fell on hard times at the bowling crease, suffering from severe anxiety.

That was the time he told reporters he "just woke up one morning and couldn't bowl".

So great was his lack of confidence that he opted to take an entire season off, trading his cricket whites for his surfing gear and setting off around the Otago coast in a Volkswagen Kombi, as far away as possible from his field of dreams.

It was during one of his surfing expeditions that he decided, apparently while lying on his board out beyond the breakers, that he didn't want to leave the game, and that he was keen to reinvent himself as a batsman.

The next season he played as a specialist batsman for his Dunedin club team, and announced his promise the following spring when he successfully struck the 33 runs required off the last over (6,6,6,6,6,3) during a warm-up game against Canterbury.

Richardson also pursued his love of flying, qualifying for his pilot's licence while still with Otago, a pastime that has since taken a back seat to his international cricket career.

One of the country's best batsmen off the back foot, Richardson gave a preview of his ability against the 1994-95 West Indians at Carisbrook, where he scored his maiden first-class century against an attack fired up by senior batsman Brian Lara.

Lara had earlier been incensed after Richardson teased him about being recently dismissed by Australian woman's player Zoe Goss in a charity match across the Tasman.

Never one to suffer from a superiority complex, Richardson's sense of humility was always to the fore during his test career, and never more so than when he initiated his 100m foot race against the slowest member of the opposition team.

He actually beat Auckland team-mate Aaron Barnes, Pakistan's Danish Kaneria and Australia's Darren Lehmann, but was out-run by England's Ashley Giles and annihilated by South Africa's Neil McKenzie.

He also brought the house down during the second test against India last year when he suffered cramping in his legs while scoring his third century, on several occasions screaming out loud and collapsing prone on the pitch.

And it was in the same game that the India players suddenly lay face-down in the field while Richardson was batting, the traditional protection technique used when a swarm of bees invade the ground.

Not knowing what was happening, Richardson followed suit, saying later that he didn't know what he was doing, but that he thought it might be some sort of religious ceremony so he didn't want to offend anyone.

Richardson's parents, at least, are unlikely to quibble with his decision, as they keenly felt his setback as a young bowler and lived each day of his difficult transformation from left-arm spinner to successful test batsman.

The story goes that Richardson's mother and father simply couldn't watch their son bat, and would instead potter around in the garden or the like until he was dismissed, in order to avoid the stress and tension.

For all that, he will be desperately missed by the test team, not only for his defiant batting but also for his ability to introduce new ideas, to think outside the square, and to bring a sense of realism to the squad. New Zealand might find another opening batsman, but there will never be another Mark Richardson.

Mark Richardson

Born: June 11, 1971
Left-hand batsman, left-arm orthodox spin bowler
First-class teams: New Zealand, Auckland, Otago
Test debut: v Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, 2000-01
Test statistics: Batting: 38 matches, 65 innings, 2776 runs at 44.77, 19 50s, 4 100s. Bowling: 11 overs 0 maidens 21 runs 1 wicket, best bowling 1-16. Catches: 26. Highest score: 145 v India, Mohali, 2003-04.
First-class statistics: Batting: 156 matches, 263 innings, 9959 runs at 42.92, 48 50s, 20 100s. Bowling: 44 wickets at 43.43, best bowling 5-77. Catches: 89. Highest score: 306 v Zimbabwe A, Kwekwe, 2000-01.
One-day international statistics: 4 matches, 4 innings, 42 runs at 10.50. One-day international debut: v Australia, Melbourne, 2001-02. Highest score: 26 v Australia, Sydney, 2001-02