Kane Richardson is, quite understandably, excited to be part of Australia’s T20 World Cup squad but he wouldn’t have complained if it hadn’t happened. Earlier this year, with the Covid-19 pandemic still spreading around the globe, his priority was to be a husband and a dad.
Richardson had made himself unavailable for last year’s home limited-overs series against India to be with his wife and newborn son but was back in the squad for the T20I tour of New Zealand in March. However, it was as he quarantined following his hurried exit from the first part of the IPL earlier this year where things changed.
Kane Richardson Talks about his Withdrawal and Priorities
“When I did withdraw from West Indies and Bangladesh it was spoken about as a real possibility, that guys can jump the queue and take your spot. But at that point I was so firm in the reasons I wasn’t going that they were the main priorities in my mind,” Richardson told a leading media house.
“If the World Cup had been in June, I wouldn’t have gone, that was my strong position. It didn’t matter what series it was, I wasn’t trying to pick or choose, it was just at that stage I needed to be at home. It was something I was okay with if that happened as well, you can’t miss these series then be upset if your position is taken.
“It would have been nice to be available and played all these games but with all that’s happened in the world it’s been a really tough time to juggle having a family and being a professional cricketer so I’ve tried the best I can.”
“It’s about keeping it simple” – Richardson on his bowling variations
However, Richardson isn’t one to lie that he has a host of variations – rather he trusts what he does well. “I haven’t got a huge repertoire. I know I’ve heard other guys say how many they have and I laugh at it because there’s not that many.
For me there’s two, I’m always working on a third one, but it’s a back-of-a-hand legcutter and a deep-in-the-hand slower ball. It’s not so much just having them but knowing when to bowl them. So it’s about keeping it simple and knowing which ones are best suited to various situations.”
“Complete Clarity of Role helped me to thrive” – Richardson
“For those who have been around since 2019, [it’s about] getting back into that mindset of what we each do really well and sticking to that, then everyone has a really good understanding,” he said.
“I made a decision that I was going to prioritise playing for Australia and my family, they were the two most important things,” he said. “It probably sounds ironic that I missed the next Australian tour, but I needed time at home. For the remainder of my career I’ll prioritise playing for Australia for as long as I can and if I’m not doing that, be at home, be a dad and be a husband.”
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