WHY BARRY RICHARDS?

Barry Richards is arguably one of the greatest opening batsmen to have ever played the game. But for South Africa's isolation from world cricket consequent on the ICC's anti-apartheid policy, Barry Richards would have doubtlessly left his imprint on Test cricket as one of the finest opening batsmen ever. This may be a matter of conjecture but I have based my estimation on his batting performances in his brief sunlit career of four Test matches against Australia on home turf in 1970 when he, along with the redoubtable Graeme Pollock, stole the limelight with two scintillating centuries and later on in Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket he scored brilliant hundreds in the Super Tests. Along with this his score of 325 in a day in a Sheffield Shield match in Australia against an attack comprising Dennis Lillee has in the estimation of the connoisseurs of cricket established him as one of the finest opening batsmen of all time. Moreover, his ability to score briskly with a breathtaking array of shots has tilted my choice in favour of him as my leading opener for my all-time Test World Eleven. Even the great Don Bradman had selected Barry Richards as one of his openers in his Dream Test Eleven, although, Richie Benaud opted for Jack Hobbs instead of the Springbok in his all-time greatest Test team. However, I feel that Barry Richards undoubtedly deserves his place as my opener number one despite the possibility of carping criticism from critics as to the soundness of my selection on account of the fact that Barry Richards, after all, never played Test cricket for any sizeable period of time over many Test matches against all kinds of opposition for him to have proved his merit at the highest level as the very best. I, for myself, have no such misgivings and I am convinced that Barry Richards is one of the greatest opening batsmen of all time and as such have backed him as my opener extraordinaire to take on the might of the opposition bowling attack whosoever it may comprise, for he was equally at home against pace and spin and in all sorts of conditions, be they the hard and bouncy Australian wickets or the humid swinging conditions of English cricket.