Tom Richardson

Tom Richardson (11 August 1870, Byfleet, Surrey – 2 July 1912, Chambéry, France) was an English cricketer. A fast bowler, Richardson relied to a great extent on the break-back (a fast ball moving from off to leg), a relatively long run-up and high arm which allowed him to gain sharp lift on fast pitches even from the full, straight length he always bowled. He played 358 first-class cricket matches and 14 Tests, taking a total of 2,104 wickets. In the four consecutive seasons from 1894 to 1897 he took 1,005 wickets, a figure surpassed over such a period only by the slow bowler A.P. Freeman. He took 290 wickets in 1905, again a figure only exceeded by Freeman (twice).Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 2008 edition, p322. In 1963 Neville Cardus selected him as one of his "Six Giants of the Wisden Century".

Early career

Richardson first played for Surrey, his native county, in 1892, and showed promise with some strong performances in minor matches, notably fifteen wickets against EssexPardon, Sydney H. (editor); John Wisden’s Cricketer’s Almanac; Jubilee Edition (1913); part I, p. 197. However his first-class record that season was only moderate.

However, with Surrey's bowling mainstay for the previous decade George Lohmann declining rapidly in health, Richardson made a totally unexpected advance to be the second-highest wicket-taker in the country in 1893. Performances of 11 for 95 for Surrey against the touring...
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