The Richardson story in numbers

Perhaps numbers never do reveal the full story, but they tell a large part of it. Every Friday, The Numbers Game will take a look at statistics from the present and the past, busting myths and revealing hidden truths:

New Zealand's MVP
One of New Zealand's best opening batsmen has retired. In his last series, he was in the news more for the much-publicised race of the laggards, but throughout his 38-Test career, Mark Richardson was anything but that. Averaging nearly 45 over a four-year period is a tough enough ask for a regular specialist opener; to achieve that after starting off as a left-arm spinner who batted at No. 10 for Otago, his state, was quite outstanding. His tepid performances against Australia in his last couple of Tests took just a bit of the sheen away - and ensured that he slipped below Martin Crowe in the all-time list of most successful batsmen (among those with at least 20 Test caps) - but it was still a career which had many more highs than lows.

Richardson's dour approach at the crease - he has famously admitted that his repertoire consists of exactly three strokes, including the forward defence - wouldn't have brought the crowds in, but his presence was crucial in a line-up of flashy, aggressive batsmen. He finished with a strike-rate of less than 38 runs per 100 balls - which translates into 2.28 runs per over - but his slow march, coupled with a fairly high average, meant that he was out in the middle for a long time in most games. On an average, Richardson played 194 deliveries per Test - among New Zealand batsmen in the last 20 years, only Andrew Jones comes close to matching that figure. John Wright, on whom Richardson modeled his approach to batting, managed only 179.

Often, the value of Richardson's contribution was much more than the sheer number of runs he scored - his presence provided the stability and allowed the strokemakers to play with abandon. On an average, New Zealand scored 99 runs while he was at the crease, and 199 after his dismissal. The table below shows how some of the present-day openers compare on that front.

More than once, Richardson's dismissal gave the opposition the inspiration to run through the rest of the side, as the figures below illustrate. Probably the most embarrassing of those collapses was against Pakistan at Wellington in December last year. New Zealand had a first-innings lead of 170, and built on that, reaching 95 for 3 in their second innings. Then, Richardson got out for 41, and incredibly, New Zealand were bowled out for the addition of eight more runs, and then went on to lose that match.

And then, of course, there was the small matter of Richardson the spinner. Only once did he bowl more than an over in a Test, and he didn't do badly, having Yousuf Youhana caught and bowled for 203 and returning figures of 1 for 16 from nine overs. He ended with Bradmanesque figures in batting (9994 first-class runs) and a Test bowling average and economy-rate lower than Richard Hadlee's. You can't argue with figures like those, can you? (Click here for a summary of Richardson's career stats)

S Rajesh is an assistant editor of Cricinfo.