Lives in Cricket No 25 - Tom Richardson

30 1892-94 Surrey...and England Gloucestershire were dispatched by an innings and 200 runs, Middlesex by five wickets. An ‘eight-for’ against Cambridge University at The Oval was followed by yet another against the same opponents at Fenner’s a week later. On the renewal [ie after lunch] helped to some extent by the wicket, Richardson bowled with remarkable success… W.G.Druce occupied the crease for an hour and a half for 20, but otherwise Richardson bowled with remarkable success..no one faced Richardson with any confidence and his analysis was quite out of the common, showing eight wickets for forty runs... 60 In full it was 22.1-10-40-8, hardly ‘out of the common’ by this time – indeed, almost the norm, as illustrated by his 20-5-28-4, 20-4-42-6, 21.4-7- 46-5 and 27.3-5-68-7 in substantial wins against Yorkshire and Lancashire. He celebrated the summer solstice by emulating his nine for 47 of the previous season with ten for 45 against Essex at the The Oval. Only on four other occasions has a bowler taken all ten in a first-class match for Surrey. There have been only 80 instances in the history of first-class cricket. The wicket though slow was not difficult and this made Richardson’s bowling the more remarkable…Richardson took all ten wickets a feat which has never before been performed by a Surrey bowler. Seven of the batsmen were clean bowled, one (Russell) played on and the other two were caught. 61 Surrey led by 242 on the first innings at Derby, Richardson and Smith taking five each, but rain prevented their cashing in on that advantage. A defeat by Kent and a win against Somerset followed before Notts and Gloucestershire were once again both beaten by an innings, thanks almost entirely to Richardson’s 19-8-39-4, 37.4-11-80-6, 17.5-5-27-6 and 20.1-4-34-7 – and in between another ‘seven-for’ in a win at Taunton. The spectacular was becoming the norm. After Painter had been dismissed, however, at 63, Richardson resumed with such success that in forty-six balls he had five wickets at a cost of only ten runs. How much of the credit rested with Richardson his figures will show. In the match he took thirteen wickets at a cost of little over five and a half runs apiece. To Brockwell and him indeed, Surrey’s victory was mainly due. 62 Brockwell had made 72. Their efforts had not gone unnoticed: Mr A.E.Stoddart is apparently impressed with the necessity of having a strong back-bone of Surrey for the team he is to take to Australia next month. Richardson and Lockwood have already signed for the trip, and Brockwell last week accepted the offer made by Mr Stoddart. 63 60 Cricket 14 June 1894 61 Cricket 21 June 1894 62 Cricket 16 August 1894 63 Cricket 23 August 1894