The Australian summer of 1970/71 tends to be more enjoyable in retrospect than it was in the actual fabric of living it. But I guess this is the way with many things.
Looking back, that tormented summer of Ashes cricket introduced to Test cricket the holy trinity – Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh.
Also in the last Test of the series we had a new captain – Ian Chappell – who would go on to become one of our finest leaders. Although we didn’t know it then our cricket was about to take a turn for the better. But back in 1970 it looked glum indeed.
The Australians had returned home following a four-nil thrashing by South Africa. During the Ashes series it didn’t get much better, with the six-match Test series being decided in England’s favour two-nil.
In the last Test, Australia, under the new, dynamic, invigorating leadership of Chappelli, had the opportunity to square the series after taking a first-innings lead. But the superior quality and experience of the Englishmen finally told against the young Australian tyros, and the English edged out a narrow win in an acrimonious Test to claim both it and the series.
Overall the tour was boring. Generally the batting dominated the bowling, with many high scores. The batting was usually slow, and the over-rates disgustingly slow, mainly from the English.
Both captains – Ray Illingworth of England and Bill Lawry of Australia – were dull and unimaginative in their tactical outlook, although Illingworth led England with iron discipline and clear direction.
England played with extreme professional cynicism, and joy on the cricket field was difficult to find anywhere.
But one player, who was neither Australian or English, lit up the season like no-one before, except for perhaps Don Bradman. The visitor was South African Barry Richards, who came to play his cricket in Bradman’s home state of South Australia.
Richards had been a member of the South African team that had recently decimated the Australians, winning all four Tests. Richards himself was in fine fettle, hitting the Australian bowlers for scores of 29 and 32, 140, 65 and 35, 81 and 126.
That’s 508 runs from seven innings, at an average of 72.57.
These were to be his only four Tests, but Richards didn’t know that then. He hoped his season with South Australia would prepare him for Australian conditions when his country toured in 1971/72.
That tour never happened, after his countrymen (the rugby union Springboks) toured Australia and played behind barbed wire fences, with flour bombs, tear gas and the tension of a riot liable to break out at any moment.
If a rugby match in Australia in 1971 was difficult to control for political and law enforcement authorities, then a cricket match against the same nation would be logistically impossible to protect.
But for Richards this all remained in the future. For one glorious summer in 1970/71 Richards showed the Australian public what an extraordinary opening batsman he was.
In Adelaide he played for the Prospect club, topping the grade averages by a country mile.
But his batting feats for South Australia were almost unbelievable. In the season he played 10 first class games, two each against England, Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
He scored one century against each state and two against England. His six centuries included one triple, one double and four singles.
Below is a summary of his 10 first class matches in 1970/71.
1. Oct 23-26, 1970 versus Western Australia at Adelaide Oval.
Scored 7 and 44 not out. Richards’ first major appearance in Australia was a relatively quiet beginning, the calm before the storm.
2. Oct 30-Nov 2, 1970 versus England (MCC) at Adelaide Oval.
Scored 224. Ninth fastest century of season (142 balls).
Richards shared century stands with both Chappells, Ian and Greg, dominating both stands. He added 235 with Ian, who scored 93, and 148 with Greg, who scored 57. Ashes destroyer John Snow was ineffective here.
3. Nov 13-16, 1970 versus Victoria at MCG.
Scored 51 and 42. The bowling attack of Froggy Thomson, Alan Connolly, Graeme Watson and a young Jim Higgs kept Richards quiet.
4. Nov 20-23, 1970 versus Western Australia at WACA.
Scored 356. Third fastest century of season (110 balls).
Richards reached 325 not out in one day on his way to an eventual 356. The bowling attack included players who all appeared in Test cricket: a young Lillee, Graham McKenzie, Laurie Mayne and Englishman Tony Lock.
5. Dec 18-21, 1970 versus England (MCC) at Adelaide Oval.
Scored 146 and 23. Sixth fastest century of season (131 balls). Richards dominated an opening stand of 277 with Ashley Woodcock.
6. Dec 26-29, 1970 versus Queensland at Adelaide Oval.
Scored 35, in a rare quiet game for Richards.
7. Jan 16-19, 1971 versus Queensland at The Gabba.
Scored 155 and 13. Fifth fastest century of season (130 balls). The Queensland attack included Test pacemen Tony Dell and Ross Duncan, plus Indian all-rounder Rusi Surti.
8. Jan 22-25, 1971 versus New South Wales at SCG.
Scored 178. The New South Wales attack included Test players Dave Renneberg, Dave Colley, Doug Walters and a young Kerry O’Keeffe.
9. Feb 20-23, 1971 versus Victoria at Adelaide Oval.
Scored 105 and 72. Seventh fastest century of season (139 balls). This match gave Richards a century against every opponent he played in Australia.
10. Feb 26-Mar 1, 1971 versus New South Wales at Adelaide Oval.
Scored 55 and 32 retired hurt (not out). A relatively quiet end to Richards’ explosive season.
His first class record for the season was as follows: 10 matches, 16 innings, two not out, 1538 runs. His batting average was 109.86, which was helped by a highest score of 356, six centuries and three half-centuries.
But that wasn’t all. He also held 10 catches and his gentle off-spin was good enough to capture five wickets for 145 runs at an average of 29.00. Five of his six centuries were among the 10 fastest centuries of the season.
In the 1971 edition of Australian Cricket Yearbook, veteran sportswriter Ray Robinson said this. “Richards is the nearest to a perfect batsman I have seen – and this is something from one with rich memories not only of Bradman, but of Ponsford, Hammond and McCabe before the war, followed by Hutton, Compton, Hassett, Harvey and Worrell, Graveney, May and Dexter, Simpson and Burge, Hanif, Sobers and Pollock.”
“It is easy to understand why, after seeing Barry’s early-season hundreds in Adelaide, Sir Donald (Bradman) told friends in other cities, ‘Don’t fail to see this man bat when he comes here.'”
Yessirree, the Ashes cricket might have been rather dull back in the summer of 1970/71.
But there was nothing dull about the wonderful batting from Barry Anderson Richards. He probably saved the summer of cricket all by himself.
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