Tom Richardson (cricketer)

Tom Richardson

Richardson in the act of delivery
Personal information
Born	(1870-08-11)11 August 1870 Byfleet, Surrey
Died	2 July 1912(1912-07-02) (aged 41) Chambéry, France
Batting style	Right-handed batsman (RHB)
Bowling style	Right arm fast (RF)
International information
National side	English
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class Matches 14 358 Runs scored 177 3,424 Batting average 11.06 9.64 100s/50s 0/0 0/2 Top score 25* 69 Balls bowled 4,498 78,992 Wickets 88 2104 Bowling average 25.22 18.43 5 wickets in innings 11 200 10 wickets in match 4 72 Best bowling 8/94 10/45 Catches/stumpings 5/0 126/0
Source: CricInfo

Tom Richardson (11 August 1870 – 2 July 1912) was an English cricketer. A fast bowler, Richardson relied to a great extent on the break-back (a fast ball moving from off to leg), a relatively long run-up and high arm which allowed him to gain sharp lift on fast pitches even from the full, straight length he always bowled. He played 358 first-class cricket matches and 14 Tests, taking a total of 2,104 wickets. In the four consecutive seasons from 1894 to 1897 he took 1,005 wickets, a figure surpassed over such a period only by the slow bowler A.P. Freeman. He took 290 wickets in 1895, again a figure only exceeded by Freeman (twice). In 1963 Neville Cardus selected him as one of his "Six Giants of the Wisden Century".

Richardson was born in Byfleet, Surrey, and first played for his native county in 1892. He showed promise with some strong performances in minor matches, notably fifteen wickets against Essex. However, his first-class record that season was only moderate.

With Surrey's bowling mainstay for the previous decade George Lohmann declining rapidly in health, Richardson made a totally unexpected advance to be the second-highest wicket-taker in the country in 1893. Performances of 11 for 95 for Surrey against the touring Australians and 10 for 156 in the third Test, and especially the speed and stamina showed in them, already marked Richardson as one of the game's top bowlers. Although early in the year it was thought by many that his delivery constituted a throw, Richardson worked on straightening his arm and adverse comments were rarely heard again. In 1894, Richardson cemented his reputation with consistent performances: he would have reached 200 wickets but for a thigh strain in June and his average of 10.32 has never been equalled since, whilst his astonishing strike rate of 23 balls per wicket has never been approached subsequently. It was his performances in Australia during the 1894/1895 tour - maintaining speed under hot weather - that attracted attention. In the first Test at the SCG, he bowled 55 overs without losing his speed, and in the last his energetic bowling without help from the pitch directly won England the match.