Corey Richards

Corey Richards was the boom New South Wales batsman before Michael Clarke, but he appeared to bust terminally after a couple of poor years that ended with his sacking in 2002-03. However, after two seasons without a state contract, Richards returned to the squad and made occasional appearances in the Pura Cup without success, and regular contributions in the limited-overs competition with 182 runs at 30.33.

In his prime he was the Australia XI batsman who stroked a delightful 138 against England after scoring centuries in the first three Sheffield Shield matches of the 1998-99 summer. Not only did the season earn him 710 Pura Cup runs at 50.71 and the New South Wales Player of the Year gong, but it also had him tagged as a future international. The description slipped as he started to struggle and two years later he was fighting to be selected in half the state's first-class games and keep his average above 30. In 2001, he suffered a broken finger when representing Scottish club Ayr and then contracted a form of deep vein thrombosis as he embarked on an early journey home. Inconsistency led to his full-time removal from the state team and while away from the squad he began a real estate career. The return to the Blues' fold appeared to have turned him into an endless-summer cricketer again, and he was one of Scotland's overseas players in the C&G Trophy. However, his change of fortune at home ended when he missed the contract list for 2006-07.

He got into coaching after retirement, and his first major stint was to take up the batting coach role at NSW in 2011. Later, he became the head coach of the Sydney Sixers before being appointed fielding and batting coach of Bangladesh in February 2013.
ESPNcricinfo staff