My XI
'A classic player with classic technique'
Part two: Graham Gooch on the toughest competitors: Barry Richards had all the shots and immaculate technique
Producer: Tanveer Gogada
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- Players/Officials : Barry Richards
Nov 23, 2015 Part two: Graham Gooch on the toughest competitors: Barry Richards had all the shots and immaculate technique
Producer: Tanveer Gogada
Haan Ya Naa ऑस्ट्रेलिया और भारत के बीच WTC फ़ाइनल के पहले दिन से जुड़े सवालों पर संजय मांजरेकर का फ़ैसला | Jun 7, 2023
Match Day Haddin says Ashwin is one of the best bowlers going around and Manjrekar points out bowling first was not a bad decision from India | Jun 7, 2023
Hindi ऑस्ट्रेलिया और भारत के बीच ओवल में खेले जा रहे WTC फ़ाइनल के पहले दिन का लेखा जोखा संजय मांजरेकर के साथ | Jun 7, 2023
Match Day Brad Haddin also says how Head's knock nearly made Smith go unnoticed | Jun 7, 2023
Match Day Sanjay Manjrekar also points out how Head improved his game during his century on Wednesday | Jun 7, 2023
Match Day Manjrekar and Haddin on whether India assessed the pitch correctly for their selection | Jun 7, 2023
Match Day Sanjay Manjrekar also talks about Head's recipe for success | Jun 7, 2023
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Match Day Instinct or luck? Sanjay Manjrekar explains Shardul Thakur's process | Jun 7, 2023
Apr 22, 2018 Catch up with the latest from the County Championship, as Surrey's Ollie Pope makes a century at the Oval and Somerset secure victory
Jan 29, 2016 Part 11: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Malcolm Marshall was the most intelligent quick bowler ever
Jan 26, 2016 Part ten: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Dennis Lillee had tremendous stamina and the ability to adapt to any condition
Jan 19, 2016 Part nine: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Shane Warne bowled the best flipper, and he always tried to psyche out batsme...
Jan 12, 2016 Part eight: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Wasim Akram was effective both over and round the wicket and was very diffic...
Jan 5, 2016 Part seven: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Alan Knott stood out for his glovework and footwork, and he was an iconic pl...
Dec 22, 2015 Part six: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Martin Crowe's ability to transfer his weight at the crease made him a difficu...
Dec 12, 2015 Part 4: Graham Gooch on Sachin Tendulkar, who bore the crushing weight of expectation masterfully for over two decades
Dec 12, 2015 Part five: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Allan Border was not eye-catching but he was uncompromising and focused on wi...
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Barry Richards combined the technical skill of Sunil Gavaskar or Len Hutton with the ferocity of Viv Richards or Walter Hammond.Ina full test career I would have backed Barry to even overshadow Sachin Tendulkar by a matter of afew inches.More than Barry's staggering statistical figures it was the way he scored his runs.It was realy sad that Barry could not play international cricket in the time of the Viv which prevented cricket from having arguably it's best ever battle for suprmacy for the title of the world's best batsmen.Overall sadly Barry would be rated marginally below the likes of Viv Richards ,Jack Hobbs or Sunil Gavaskar as he hardly had the opportunity to play at Intyernational level.Significantly Bradman rated Barry as the best bat of his time but this could have well been unfair to Viv Richards or Sunil Gavaskar.
Arguably no batsmen ever could blend batting technique and destructive strokeplay as perfectly as Barry Richards who could pulverize the best of bowling attacks like a bomber raiding an airbase but still display the methodology of a technician.Barry's strokes had the technical perfection of an architect,the power of a boxer and the creativity of a sculptor.Barry was debatably the closest to the perfect and most complete post-war batsmen. Barry even overshadowed fellow mate Viv Richards in world series Packer cricket when scoring 207 in 1977-78 in the final supertest and 125 in the supertest final in 1978-79.Barry averaged 79.16 in packer cricket,the highest by any batsmen.His domination in 1972 when averaging 109.86 in a first class season and scoring 1583 runs was like a re-incarnation of Bradman as well as his innings of 356 .Hade he had a proper test career I would have backed Barry to have been the best batsman after Bradman.
Barry Richards was the greatest batsman I have ever seen. In a way there was a certain randomness and unpredictability about him because he had trouble motivating himself for county games day in and day out but you always felt that when he was in the mood or when there was a showcase for him like a match against a touring side or a battle against a world class bowler or a televised Sunday League match he would invariably do well. I saw him batting on TV on about 5 or 6 occasions in the Sunday League and he made hundreds in 3 of them. His 354 against a Western Australian attack including Dennis Lillee and Graham Mckenzie and his averages of over 70 in 4 tests and 5 World Series games shows what might have been. The tragedy of his exclusion from test cricket lends a tragic quality to his story and a romantic aura surrounds him in the cherished memories of those fortunate enough to have caught fleeting glimpses of his genius.