Richardson - 'I know my role in the team'
Freddie Auld talks to Mark Richardson on his role in the team, his switch from a spinner and tailender to opening batsman, and the current series against England
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It was great, but losing the match was disappointing. I felt I have should have scored more runs, although looking back, to get those scores first-up at Lord's was a great feeling. My lbw decision in the first innings was a bit tough to take, but I guess that's part of the game. It's better to be given out in the nineties rather than the thirties.
Strauss was great. Anyone who can go out on debut and beat their nerves must be a pretty tough player. I thought his innings showed great fluency, style and composure. It was a wonderful effort and he was cruelly robbed of getting his second hundred. He was looking solid at the crease and we knew that it would only be an out-of-character error which would get him out.
They're a very good side. Their bowling was exceptional. Simon Jones bowled superbly, but with no luck, Steve Harmison again showed he will take lots of wickets in the future, and Andrew Flintoff was his usual tidy self. We now need to play gutsy cricket to get back in the series. We have to realise that we haven't got the pace to blast them out, so we need to play intelligently and put them under pressure.
We just couldn't get ahead. Whenever we had a chance to, we lost wickets in groups and stumbled. We didn't use the reverse-swing as well as England, and we just didn't have enough in us in that game.
Hats off to him. A lot's been going through his mind, but he's a street fighter. He showed that with his career record, and also after the run-out [of Strauss] to go on and win the match. There was no better way to leave the game.
You're either a cricketer or you're not. When I started to struggle with spin, there was only one other option. I started to take my batting very seriously and just let it develop. I'm a cricketer and wanted to carry on being one, so I was determined to improve on my average ability with the bat.
I lost all confidence. It got to the stage where I was scared to bowl the ball in case it was a bad one. Instead of accelerating in my action, I was decelerating like a golfer not sure about a putt. I started bowling spin at school and had immediate success. I went to the academy and played with the Under-19s as a spinner, and I bowled spin for three years with Auckland. But then in 1992 I started to lose it. I really struggled and came under lots of pressure. I disintegrated and then lost my place.
It wasn't so much coaching or spending lots of time in the nets, it was just me thinking about it myself. I went away and played for my club side, starting at No. 9 and 10 where I helped to avoid the follow-on a few times when the pressure was on. I decided to take that into normal situations and the better I became. I then batted at No. 4 for Otago and got on a New Zealand A tour of England four years ago. At the time, they were struggling at the top of the order, and I took my opportunity well.
I don't know. I was quite mature when I made my debut, which helped. I'm very much a manufactured player rather than a natural player, but I was still nervous on my first tour, which luckily was against Zimbabwe. I got 99 in my second Test and then got a decent score against South Africa which helped to prove to myself I could cut it.
I'm not going to change my game. I'm not an Adam Gilchrist or a Matthew Hayden, I look to occupy the crease and limit the risks, play in low-risk areas. That requires discipline and a big mental effort, but I think my age helps. When I first batted I was much more carefree and scored a lot faster. But as my career progressed and I gave up bowling, I realised it was runs or nothing, and although I was more negative in my approach, I was more consistent.
No-one likes being criticised, but I use it to motivate me. I take to heart what the papers say, but if I have a bad run and they get into me, I like to perform on the pitch and shove it up them. If they call me soft or that I give my wicket away too cheaply then I use that to motivate me. Most players are sensitive to the criticism, but you have to use it in a positive way. The media has to say and write about something, so you either let it go over your head or use it to spur you on.
I'm lucky that the current team scores at a good rate, and that my style is more than tolerated. It's complimentary to the team and I know my role and place in it. We're not all the same style. People need to accept that even though there were great cricketers in the past, not everyone will play in the same style as them. I'm a slow and methodical player, and there's a place in the team for someone like that.
John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, has been very helpful. I had a rough series against South Africa and I needed help and advice, but I feel that the best coaches are the people around you who you play with. You can get a lot of information by just talking to them and being around them. We are a very driven outfit. We want to get better and be noted in years to come as the best New Zealand team of our era. We strive to be better than teams before us. It's a good environment to be in.
I would like more kudos by getting more hundreds, but it's more important to score runs for the team and form partnerships. It's more important whether the team win than what's in the 100 column.
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Not really, no. I'm just not very good. Not just with the bat, but I struggled in the field as well in terms of agility and athleticism. It doesn't suit my style. If my technique became better and I was asked then of course I'd say yes, but I've got no ambitions in one-day cricket - the fact that I'm not picked doesn't bother me at all.
We're a good side, but I don't think we've played to our maximum on this tour yet. If we don't have success here, we will somewhere down the road. We are definitely on the up, and in five to ten years I'm sure we will be producing consistent results.
It's a good tour to be on. It's nice that we travel around on a bus, and aren't at airports all the time. You can get out of the hotel room and do lots of things, and there's plenty of shopping for the wives and girlfriends.
I'm getting on a bit [he's 33 next week]. There are other important things in my life and I would have to sum it up. If it would be improving my life then I could, but I need plenty of time off from the game. I put a lot of mental work into my cricket and it might not be a good move to play more. I like to get away from the game. I do a lot of surfing and other things which help my personal development.
I'm not motivated by runs or stats, I just concern myself on how I bat and that the team wins.