'I'm a pretty old dog, sticking to my ways'

Mark Richardson is a realist. He started as a left-arm spinner, but found that he moved up and down the order in New Zealand, so he tried to specialise as an opening batsman. And it worked. He has been a consistent performer over the last four years, and has an enviable average of 46.97 as a Test opener. Richardson, who is on his first trip to India, gave an exclusive interview to Wisden Cricinfo on the eve of the second Test at Mohali ...

Mark Richardson: a self-made man

When you batted as No. 10, was it because the batting order was so strong? And did you ever consider yourself to be a batsman?
I was a bowler then, and was very flat as a batsman. I never considered myself to be a batsman, and could just hold the bat. This was when I had just started playing first-class cricket - from the age of 17 till 23 I was never a batsman.

So what was the turning-point?
I was dropped as a bowler, and I wanted to play the game. So that's when I started concentrating on my batting. This was back in 1994-95. I came back into the Otago side as a batter, and continued improving from there on as the years passed by.

Did you climb back yourself or did someone help you?
I have always believed in myself and am a self-made person. Obviously in the last four to five years there's been a good support crew, but back then when I transformed myself from a bowler to a batsman it was only me. I used to rely on watching good batsmen and try and mould myself accordingly. Also, Lance Cairns, who was the coach at Otago then, passed on a few batting tips.

From No. 10 to No. 1, do you consider yourself a specialist opener now?
Yes, very much so. I don't really like batting anywhere else but as an opener, and that's where I will finish my cricket.

How did you develop an opener's instincts?
They have come over time. When I looked back at the positions I was batting at when I was rotated, I found that my game was more suited to defend, and the more I defended the more runs I scored. And when there was an opportunity to open for the New Zealand A side - which was like a trial run - I succeeded and have not looked back.

You have said that since New Zealand seem to play Tests less regularly than the other countries it's very difficult to keep focussed. So how do you keep yours?
I agree, and find it tough to retain focus. I could cite the latest Test [in Ahmedabad last week] where I haven't had the best of the starts. So the only way out is to keep a very, very tight focus during the training and try and get the maximum out of every opportunity. As I am not getting the playing opportunities, I need to be serious whenever I have the bat in my hand, even during the training period. Yes, there is room for frustration - and I'm getting older - but as a cricketer it's my job to play. And as a player there are always tough times, but you learn from them and keep improving.

As you don't figure in NZ's one-day team, do you feel it's like a comeback every time you are in a Test?
I do, as often I join the tour late and feel like an outsider for a while. But in the last four years I have managed to hold my place in the side, and I am proud of that.

Your conversion rate - 16 fifties but only two hundreds - is pretty low. Should be a concern for an opener?
Instead of a concern I would term it as a personal disappointment. At the end of the day I am still scoring runs, and averaging in the high 40s. So I am doing my job. Also we did a study and found out that the amount of runs scored every time I was at the crease is over a hundred. So I may not score centuries, but I am contributing to partnerships that are over a hundred. The reason could be that in the past I have taken a long time to score my runs. Probably I haven't put much pressure on the bowlers, and by the time the second new ball is taken I am still in the seventies. Perhaps I may enhance my conversion rate if I can score more in the middle phase. It seems to be a problem in other people's eyes, but 100 to me is no better than a 90 or a 120.

You have faced the Sri Lankan spinners, and now the Indian ones. Is there any difference between the bowling attacks?
I have hardly played any quality spin on the Indian tour so far - I've only faced Murali Kartik in the warm-up game. As for the Sri Lankan experience, there's no comparison to Muralitharan, who's a freakish bowler. My initial strategy against him was to play and hit the ball, but when I played and missed the first five, I decided to kick frequently. He wouldn't had got me lbw with the way he was spinning the ball. I didn't concentrate on getting runs against him, and was content to play him safe while scoring runs at the other end. I don't change my game-plan for anyone, and I am a pretty old dog, sticking to my ways.

You started off with a bang, with three half-centuries against South Africa. Was that your best series?
After I made 99 against Zimbabwe in my second Test I kept my place in the side for the next few games. The subsequent tour of South Africa was my true Test introduction. I was very pleased with my game - three fifties in the three Tests. So I value that series. But my most successful so far was the series at home against Pakistan, where I got my century.

In Australia you didn't flop, but you didn't do very well either. How was the experience?
I only got one fifty, but I got the starts with a couple of thirties, and averaged in the thirties. It was not a bad series, and I contributed without any heroics. I did much better than many openers who have failed miserably against them. Yes, my average was well below my career one, but to stand up against the Aussies in their own backyard was a nice feeling.

You are 32 now. Would you like to play in some ODIs, and how many more years do you think you have in Tests?
I am not the best of the fielders, neither am I a fast runner and my body is not young. But I haven't set any goals as far as my career goes; I only set them for my game. I will give it my best till my contract ends. Then I will reassess the options and consider playing if cricket is helping me take my life forward. However, if it [cricket] holds back my life then I will chuck it and look for some other challenge.