Alan Richardson (born 6 May 1975) is a retired English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who is the head coach for

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

He played for Derbyshire County Cricket Club, Derbyshire, Warwickshire,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, and

Background

Richardson was educated at

Stafford College Stafford College is a large provider of further and higher education based in Stafford, England. The college campus is on Earl Street in Stafford Town Centre. Qualifications taught include a wide range of A-levels, with additional choice offered ...

and

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

Playing career

An opening bowler, he made his first-class debut for Derbyshire County Cricket Club, Derbyshire in 1995 and, though he did not make a contribution with the bat, his three wickets showed potential. He played one match for

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

in the

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

in 1998. Staffordshire received the trophy having had a better record in the qualifying tournament. He first appeared in the

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

in 1999, for

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, and made it to the first team in 2000. Warwickshire were to finish high in the Second Division the following year, and in their return to Division One in season 2002, they were to impress greatly, finishing the season in second place. Though his bowling was minimal for the next few years, a move to

revitalised his career and proved him capable to remain fit throughout a season. Desperate to keep Middlesex in the hunt to consolidate their Division One placing, Richardson played solidly throughout season 2005, though he played only one match in 2006. Richardson was a tailend batsman for the Warwickshire team and continued in this role with Middlesex. At the end of the 2009 season, having only played six County Championship games for Middlesex, Richardson signed for Worcestershire on a two-year contract. He was offered a coaching/playing role at Middlesex but expressed his desire to continue playing nearer to home. In 2012, Richardson was named one of

Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

for his performances in the 2011 season. In nine days in May 2013 he took 24 wickets in consecutive matches: 5 for 41 and 7 for 22 against Kent at Canterbury, then 8 for 37 and 4 for 70 against Gloucestershire at Worcester, for combined figures of 84.2–29–170–24. In spite of his reputation as "one of the real 'bunnies' in terms of batting on the county circuit", Richardson broke a number of batting records on 16 May 2002. In spite of having struck just 82 runs in his previous 31 first-class innings, Richardson made his only first-class half-century in a match against

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, going onto score 91, the then highest ever score by a no.11 batsman for Warwickshire in a first-class match. Richardson's tenth-wicket partnership with Nick Knight added 214. This was the fifth best in

history, and is still as of 2022 Warwickshire's record for the tenth wicket. On 6 January 2014, Richardson announced his retirement from first-class cricket.

Coaching career

He was appointed

's new bowling coach upon his retirement. He was appointed Worcestershire head coach in November 2022

Richardson is a lifelong fan of Stoke City Football Club.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Alan 1975 births Living people English cricketers Derbyshire cricketers Warwickshire cricketers Middlesex cricketers Sportspeople from Newcastle-under-Lyme Worcestershire cricketers Staffordshire cricketers Minor Counties cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Alumni of Durham University Cricketers from Staffordshire