Arthur Richardson

Who was Arthur Richardson?

Arthur John Richardson was an Australian Test cricketer who played nine Tests for Australia.

He played four Tests in 1924-25 against the touring English team, and toured England in 1926, playing all five Tests and scoring a century in the Third Test at Leeds.

Richardson was one of the few Australians to play with spectacles. He played first-class cricket for South Australia, mostly as an opening batsman and off-spin bowler, from 1918-19 to 1926-27. In his final season he helped South Australia win the Sheffield Shield by scoring 607 runs at 67.44, including an innings of 232 against Queensland. In October 1927 he was appointed by the Western Australian Cricket Association as state coach for a two year contract, and he played a few first-class matches for Western Australia from 1927-28 to 1929-30.

His highest first-class score was 280 for South Australia against the MCC in 1922-23, when he became the first person to hit a century before lunch in Australia. His best bowling came in the match against Oxford University in 1926 when he took 6 for 28 and 5 for 36.

Richardson played for Bacup and Burnley Cricket Clubs in the Lancashire League in the 1930s.