Cricket: Openers shrug off bad form

By MARK GEENTY in Canterbury


Mark Richardson labelled his slump against South Africa a blessing as his dress-rehearsal for the first test went almost perfectly to script yesterday.

New Zealand's only regular entry in the list of the world's top 10 test batsmen, Richardson stayed five hours for 92 against Kent in an impressive warm-up for his 32nd test.

He and centurion Michael Papps put on 244 for the first wicket, a record by a New Zealand pair against any English county, as the tourists reached 297 for two at stumps.

It beat Bert Sutcliffe and Verdun Scott's 229 against Surrey in 1949, and was a welcome jolt from their 13.8 average stand against South Africa.

While the chanceless 227-ball innings confirmed all was well with Richardson's form, he admitted he needed reinforcing after averaging just 22 in five test innings against South Africa.

For a man who averages 46.32 from 53 test innings, the March series was a letdown and a wake-up call.

"I was carrying a bit of mental baggage, I had a poor domestic run-up and I felt uneasy at the wicket.

"You're always going to have a poor run and it wasn't a nightmare, I still averaged 20-odd, but it was below par for my own standards," Richardson said after departing the leafy St Lawrence Ground.

"It was good timing to have that. Braces [coach John Bracewell] gave me a few things to work on and I think they're going to pay dividends here.

"I'm a bit on edge because I'm still trying to prove to Braces that I'm a reasonably good player.

"You've been successful in the game, you have a couple of bad tests and people start asking questions."

Richardson looked vulnerable for the first time in his career against the South Africans, particularly to the short ball.

He found he was moving his front foot too far across, adjusted it and was happy with the results.

"I've worked bloody hard on my positioning. It's better than it was.

"I haven't tried to change my game-plan, I'm not trying to play more shots, I'm just trying to be more efficient and timing the ball better.

"I'm in much better position and I'm striking the ball through the off-side a bit better. I've got more confidence to play off the front foot in those areas."

Richardson didn't venture too far outside his three-card trick yesterday - leg glance, straight drive and cut - but later allowed himself some flowing cover drives off the pacemen and a lofted drive off spinner Min Patel among his 11 boundaries.

He kicked himself for his dismissal an hour before stumps - ducking what he thought was a shoulder-high full toss from errant young paceman David Stiff, only to watch it cannon into the base of the off stump.

"I just didn't pick it up. I just thought he had bowled a beamer ... I certainly cocked it up.

"He had been a bit all over the place so I wasn't sure where it was going."

Papps' century may have come too late to save his test place at Lord's on Thursday, but he at least tweaked Bracewell's selection headache.

The incumbent test opener, seemingly destined to carry the drinks at Lord's, clawed back with a fighting 126.

His seventh first-class century halted a tour sequence of nought, one and six, and put the heat back on Bracewell who has the task of omitting either him or the experienced Craig McMillan next week.

- NZPA