Richardson The Lionheart
At 36 years of age, journeyman seamer Alan Richardson is still one of county cricket’s most prolific wicket-takers. Chris Airey spoke to the man who topped the Division One wicket-taking charts in 2011.
Last season was a bit of a dream, right?
It was my best year stats-wise. I am more than happy to take 50 wickets but to get 70-odd [73 in all] was fantastic and just the way I bowled, it felt good for virtually every game. It was probably the best I have ever bowled; everything just clicked together. Pity it happened when I’m 36 and not 26, but there you go!
What targets have you set for 2012?
I just want to play cricket and stay on the park for as long as possible, so I set little targets each year. For me it’s not in terms of cricket but it’s how many overs I can get through, so if I reach a certain target it means that I am fit enough and bowling well enough to stay in the side. I want to make a big contribution like I did last season and I guess it will be to build on what I did last year and hopefully kick on at the start of the season.
Which Worcester players should go well in 2012?
We are a very young side. If you take me and Vikram Solanki out of the side you’ve got a bunch of kids, really. I think Moeen Ali will just continue to improve, he spent some of the winter away playing first-class cricket in Sri Lanka and I think he’ll certainly be someone who will be a real good player in the future. Alexei Kervezee is one to watch; he probably didn’t have his greatest season last year and he would be the first to admit that, but he played our best innings of the season at Trent Bridge on a pretty awful wicket and I think that will give him confidence going into next season.
