BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – BARBADOS’ 33-year-old opening batsman Dale Richards has stated that he has no worries after being called up to the West Indies senior cricket team to replace Guyana’s Travis Dowlin in the third and final Test against South Africa this weekend.
Speaking to the media at training session at Kensington Oval ahead of the third Test tomorrow (June 26), Richards said his age is a benefit to him, not a hindrance when it comes to playing top-level cricket.
“I only have two Test matches under my belt but at the end of the day, at 33 years old, there is nothing to lose. It's just about getting out there and doing my bit,” he said.
Richards was called up to the 13-man squad after Dowlin failed to deliver in his three previous Test innings against South Africa, scoring a combined 15 runs across those appearances at the top of the order. As one of only two openers selected to the side, Richards is all but certain to take the crease with Captain Chris Gayle when the match begins.
“A lot of people write off a lot of guys at 30, but I think when you get to that age you understand batting more. I don't go in the game with any sort of pressure,” the batsman stated at the training session.
The Barbadian has only made two previous Test match appearances for West Indies, being called up to play against Bangladesh in 2009 when many top players were on strike. South Africa will be his first opportunity to play against one of the world’s leading Test playing nations.
Richards has shown some promise against the South Africans in their tour of the Caribbean, having participated in the One Day International series and scored 157 runs at an average of 39.25. The Barbadian said that he plans to continue the “positive” effort from that series and deliver with the bat for the fans of the West Indies.
“This is Test cricket, so I need to spend some time at the top of the order along with Chris [Gayle], but I think we should come out and play some very positive cricket. Some positive cricket will really help the people in the Caribbean.”
West Indies are currently trailing in the Test series, having lost the first match by 163 runs in Trinidad and drawn the second earlier this week at Warner Park in St. Kitts.
Apart from drawing the Test series, a win for West Indies would return some semblance of hope to the side after they suffered a humiliating 0-2 defeat in the Twenty20 series and a 0-5 sweep in the ODI series.
Play for the final match of the series is scheduled to begin at Kensington Oval at 10 a.m.
