Jack Richards
Encyclopedia
Jack Richards is an English
former cricket
er, who played in eight Tests
and twenty two ODIs for England from 1981 to 1988. He was a wicket-keeper
and a useful lower-middle order
batsman, who made 133 for England against Australia at the WACA
, Perth
in 1987.
The cricket correspondent, Colin Bateman, remarked "an ability to rub people up the wrong way counted against Jack Richards, England's most gifted wicketkeeper-batsman since Alan Knott
. Always competitive, often outspoken and sometimes disruptive, Richards was alert and agile with the gloves although prone to the odd lapse".
debut in 1976, he toured India
and Sri Lanka
as reserve wicket-keeper to Bob Taylor
in 1981-82, and forced his way into international contention again in 1986, when his batting produced over a thousand runs. He played two One Day Internationals against New Zealand
, and was picked for the 1986/87 Ashes tour, initially as cover for Bruce French. However England opted to play the wicket-keeper more likely to score runs, and he recorded his century at Perth
in only his second Test as England piled up 592 for 8. Richards scored 264 runs at 37.71 in the Tests on the tour, but his batting tailed off after his bright start, and French resumed his place in the side at home in 1987.
Richards toured New Zealand and played two more Tests against the West Indies, but, despite a record benefit season
for Surrey, he was released by the county amongst dressing room unrest at the end of 1988. Despite his England pedigree, he was not re-engaged by another county, and retired at the early age of 30, to a career as a shipping broker
in the Netherlands
.
He also is the manager of the Belgian
Under 16's rugby union
team, and the coach of the Antwerp Cricket Club.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
former cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, who played in eight Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and twenty two ODIs for England from 1981 to 1988. He was a wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
and a useful lower-middle order
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
batsman, who made 133 for England against Australia at the WACA
WACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
in 1987.
The cricket correspondent, Colin Bateman, remarked "an ability to rub people up the wrong way counted against Jack Richards, England's most gifted wicketkeeper-batsman since Alan Knott
Alan Knott
Alan Philip Eric Knott is a former Kent County Cricket Club and English cricketer, as a wicket-keeper-batsman....
. Always competitive, often outspoken and sometimes disruptive, Richards was alert and agile with the gloves although prone to the odd lapse".
Life and career
After making his SurreySurrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
debut in 1976, he toured India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
as reserve wicket-keeper to Bob Taylor
Bob Taylor (cricketer)
Robert William Taylor , known as Bob Taylor, is a former English cricketer who played as wicket-keeper for Derbyshire between 1961 and 1984 and for England between 1971 and 1984. He made 57 Test, and 639 first class cricket appearances in total, taking 1,473 catches. The 2,069 victims across his...
in 1981-82, and forced his way into international contention again in 1986, when his batting produced over a thousand runs. He played two One Day Internationals against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
, and was picked for the 1986/87 Ashes tour, initially as cover for Bruce French. However England opted to play the wicket-keeper more likely to score runs, and he recorded his century at Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
in only his second Test as England piled up 592 for 8. Richards scored 264 runs at 37.71 in the Tests on the tour, but his batting tailed off after his bright start, and French resumed his place in the side at home in 1987.
Richards toured New Zealand and played two more Tests against the West Indies, but, despite a record benefit season
Benefit (sports)
A benefit or testimonial is a match or season of activities granted by a sporting body to a loyal sportsman to boost their income before retirement. Often this is in the form of a match for which all the ticket proceeds are given to the player in question.There have been occasions when a...
for Surrey, he was released by the county amongst dressing room unrest at the end of 1988. Despite his England pedigree, he was not re-engaged by another county, and retired at the early age of 30, to a career as a shipping broker
Shipbroking
Shipbroking is a financial service, which forms part of the global shipping industry. Shipbrokers are specialist intermediaries/negotiators between shipowners and charterers who use ships to transport cargo, or between buyers and sellers of ships.Some brokerage firms have developed into large...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
He also is the manager of the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
Under 16's rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team, and the coach of the Antwerp Cricket Club.