Tuesday 5 October 2010

Class: permanent

Heard a great story about bad-ass Barry Richards being even more bad-ass than usual, and it's quite a recent one too, dating to the occasion the other summer when Richards turned out for the Bunbury charity XI.

He arrived at the game direct from the airport, carrying a pair of golf shoes and a bat so old that it was the colour of oak and the width of a slim volume of poetry. The rest of the kit he borrowed. A couple of men fell and he made his way in. Richards began slowly, as befitted a man who had just crossed the world, but soon that thin bat sang its song, and Bad Bas was smiling his way to another fifty before he gave his wicket away.

'How long is it since you've played,' someone asked him back in the pavilion.

'Oh, twelve years,' said Richards.

Twelve years. Bad-ass.

3 comments:

John Holmes said...

B A Richards and C G Greenidge - Hampshire's greatest-ever opening pair ?

The Old Batsman said...

Oh yes - think they might have got into a few other sides, too...!

Anonymous said...

well Roy Marshall was rather good too....given that the Windies were often an opener or 2 short during Marshall's long career, it still amazes me that he never played test cricket. At least Alan Jones can say he coincided with Boycott, Edrich, Barber, Luckhurst, Amiss, Gooch, Jameson; and Don Shepherd had Laker, Appleyard, McConnon, Titmus, Illingworth, Allen, Mortimore, D'Oliveira, Pocock......to contend with.