Cricket: Richardson shows he has right technique

By RICHARD BOOCK

EAST LONDON - Amid all the disappointment of the loss to South Africa in the first cricket test, the performance of opening batsman Mark Richardson was one of the few positive developments to emerge.

New Zealand's five-wicket defeat in Bloemfontein was notable for a toothless bowling effort and some hare-brained batting in the first innings, but there were still a couple of encouraging signs for the tourists as they build towards the second test at Port Elizabeth, starting on Thursday.

For starters, Richardson's efforts in coping with the maelstrom that was the South African pace battery augured well for the rest of the series, and provided compelling evidence that the left-hander has a reasonable future at the highest level of the game.

The 29-year-old late bloomer struck an uncharacteristic 23 off 22 balls in the first innings, before settling down into a more watchful role in the second, anchoring the top order with a patient 77 in 245 minutes.

"Before this test I said I thought my career was approaching the crossroads in regard to whether I was actually up to it or not," said Richardson, who made 99 in the second test against Zimbabwe at Harare.

"I was pretty fired up in the first innings to do well, and as it happened, Allan Donald was also pretty fired up, so it made for a quite unusual innings in that I was scoring so freely early on."

However, the Otago left-hander knuckled down to his more conservative approach in the second innings, collecting runs comfortably off the back foot and through the leg side, while still managing to shoulder arms to anything that was missing his off stump.

His partnership of 52 with captain Stephen Fleming gave the tourists hope of defying the South Africans, and provided Richardson with the useful knowledge that he could cope with some of the best pace bowling in world cricket.

"It's given me a lot of confidence but it's also given me a lot to work on," he said. "I was pleased but I know that these guys are good enough when they hit their straps to make it incredibly difficult for any batsman.

"I was pretty well set on 77 when Donald struck, and it just shows how hard it is to get a test hundred."

Richardson was trapped in front by a Donald slower ball which completely escaped his radar and landed on the toe of his boot.

He said that at the time he first sighted it, he thought it was a waist-high full-toss and by the time he realised it had been held back, it was far too late.

"Test cricket is so good that, even in the form I was in, someone can roll up and bowl you a ball like that. It was fairly useful."

The other pleasing performance to emerge from the match was the effort of legspinner Brooke Walker, who looked reasonably useful with the ball, and proved a valuable member of the lower-order batting.

Walker took match figures of two for 111 off 31.3 overs, but helped out as much with the bat, resisting the South Africans for 130 minutes in the first innings and hanging around for another 106 minutes in the second.

With the Port Elizabeth pitch not expected to favour the pacemen much either, Walker's place in the second test side seems virtually guaranteed, and he has already started moving up the batting order, being promoted one place to No 7 in the second innings.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said it was encouraging to see a player such as Walker grab the opportunity to further his career.

"He did a good job with bat and ball," Fleming said. "And with that type of mental attitude in his first test, he's certainly going to play a part for us in the future."