Thaindian News

Perth, Jan 30 (IANS) South Africa batting legend Barry Richards received a commemorative cap here Friday to mark his induction into International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Cricket Hall of Fame.Richards said he will cherish “the ultimate accolade” after receiving the honour from ICC president David Morgan and Cricket Australia chairman Jack Clarke in front of a sold-out WACA Ground crowd before the start of the ODI between Australia and South Africa.

“It’s something I’ll cherish, this recognition by peers and followers of the game, especially given my limited opportunities at international level,” Richards said.

Morgan said: “The word ‘great’ is often over-used but it applied to Richards, a wonderfully gifted player.”

Richards is one of 55 players in the Hall of Fame’s initial intake that includes Indian Bishan Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev.

Richards only played four Test matches with his top level career cut short by South Africa’s sporting isolation during the apartheid era. But despite that fact, his career still stands out like a beacon.

In those four matches, against Australia in 1970, he scored 508 runs at an average of 72.57, while his first-class aggregate of 28,358 runs for Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Natal, Transvaal and South Australia included 80 centuries.

One of those hundreds came at the WACA Ground in November 1970, when he scored 325 runs in a single day, for South Australia against a Western Australia side boasting an attack of international bowlers Dennis Lillee, Tony Lock, Graham McKenzie and Tony Mann.

“He had the ability to make batting look so simple and elegant while, at the same time, making top-class bowlers look ordinary. He was a wonderfully gifted player,” Morgan said.

Further cap presentations will be made during the course of 2009, the ICC’s centenary year.