Richie Richardson
Encyclopedia
Richard Benjamin Richardson (born 12 January 1962) is a retired West Indies
cricket
er and a former captain
of the West Indian cricket team
.
Richardson was born in Five Islands Village, Antigua
. He began his career with the Leewards Islands
in 1982 as an opener and after his second season he was called up by the West Indies to tour India in the 1983–84 season. Richardson joined a successful West Indies Test team captained by Clive Lloyd
batting in the middle order. He was a flamboyant batsman and superb player of fast bowling
. He was famous for his wide-brimmed maroon hat which he wore in preference to a helmet against even the fastest bowlers.
After Viv Richards
's Test match retirement, Richie took on the mantle of captain of the West Indies. He captained the team 24 times winning 11 matches. In the 4 years of his captaincy, the West Indies only lost one series — versus Australia
in 1995 which was the West Indies' first series defeat since 1980. Under his captaincy, Curtly Ambrose
and Courtney Walsh
led the bowling attack and Brian Lara
emerged as a world-class batsman.
Richardson played 86 Test match
es until 1995 scoring 5,949 runs and 16 centuries. He was very successful against Australia, hitting 9 centuries against them, and scored his highest score of 194 against India
in Guyana
in 1989. He also played 224 One Day Internationals including 3 World Cup
s. Richardson's last international was the 1996 World Cup
semi-final defeat against Australia, after which he resigned the position of captain.
Richardson also played for Yorkshire
in the English County Championship
in 1993 and 1994. In 2009 he was signed to Thames Ditton Cricket Club
in Surrey.
After his retirement from international cricket, Richardson became the first high-profile signing by the English all-star club cricket team Lashings World XI
, and is the current captain of the team. He also plays bass guitar
in reggae
band Big Bad Dread and The Baldhead, alongside Curtly Ambrose
.
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
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 and a former captain
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
of the West Indian cricket team
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
.
Richardson was born in Five Islands Village, Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
. He began his career with the Leewards Islands
Leeward Islands cricket team
The Leeward Islands cricket team is a first class cricket team representing the member countries of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association, a regional association which again is part of the West Indies Cricket Board. Contrary to the normal English definition of the Leeward Islands, Dominica is not...
in 1982 as an opener and after his second season he was called up by the West Indies to tour India in the 1983–84 season. Richardson joined a successful West Indies Test team captained by Clive Lloyd
Clive Lloyd
Clive Hubert Lloyd CBE AO is a former West Indies cricketer. He captained the West Indies between 1974 and 1985 and oversaw their rise to become the dominant Test-playing nation, a position that was only relinquished in the latter half of the 1990s...
batting in the middle order. He was a flamboyant batsman and superb player of fast bowling
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
. He was famous for his wide-brimmed maroon hat which he wore in preference to a helmet against even the fastest bowlers.
After Viv Richards
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv or King Viv Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald...
's Test match retirement, Richie took on the mantle of captain of the West Indies. He captained the team 24 times winning 11 matches. In the 4 years of his captaincy, the West Indies only lost one series — versus Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
in 1995 which was the West Indies' first series defeat since 1980. Under his captaincy, Curtly Ambrose
Curtly Ambrose
Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose is a former West Indian cricketer. His skill was as a right-arm fast bowler, especially in partnership with Courtney Walsh...
and Courtney Walsh
Courtney Walsh
Courtney Andrew Walsh is a former international cricketer who represented the West Indies from 1984 to 2001, captaining the West Indies in 22 Test matches...
led the bowling attack and Brian Lara
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM is a former West Indian international cricket player. Lara is generally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time...
emerged as a world-class batsman.
Richardson played 86 Test match
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...
es until 1995 scoring 5,949 runs and 16 centuries. He was very successful against Australia, hitting 9 centuries against them, and scored his highest score of 194 against India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
in Guyana
Bourda
The Bourda is a cricket ground in Georgetown, Guyana, used by the Guyanese cricket team for matches with other nations in the Caribbean as well as some Test matches involving the West Indies. Located in Bourda in Georgetown, Guyana, between Regent Street and North Road, it is home to the Georgetown...
in 1989. He also played 224 One Day Internationals including 3 World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
s. Richardson's last international was the 1996 World Cup
1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...
semi-final defeat against Australia, after which he resigned the position of captain.
Richardson also played for Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
in the English County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
in 1993 and 1994. In 2009 he was signed to Thames Ditton Cricket Club
Thames Ditton
Thames Ditton is a village in Surrey, England, bordering Greater London. It is situated 12.2 miles south-west of Charing Cross between the towns of Kingston upon Thames, Surbiton, Esher and East Molesey...
in Surrey.
After his retirement from international cricket, Richardson became the first high-profile signing by the English all-star club cricket team Lashings World XI
Lashings World XI
The Lashings World XI is a famous cricket team, founded by David Folb. It was originally formed in 1984 as a scratch team, and grew from an unremarkable English local club cricket team into, as it bills itself, the "World’s greatest cricket club"....
, and is the current captain of the team. He also plays bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
in reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
band Big Bad Dread and The Baldhead, alongside Curtly Ambrose
Curtly Ambrose
Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose is a former West Indian cricketer. His skill was as a right-arm fast bowler, especially in partnership with Courtney Walsh...
.