July 7th 2013 - a tribute to Richard Austin
HHCC players and supporters met this weekend
devastated and in a state of shock. It was perhaps the saddest week
of the club’s history, as on Saturday morning we received the
shattering news of our friend and team mate, Richard Austin’s,
sudden death. The chairman broke the news to the team and a
consensus of whether we should play the next day was taken. It was
decided that, in Richie’s honour, we should. And that we would meet
at the ground early, to remember him with a minute’s silence before
the match.
At 2pm on Sunday, with the flag at half mast,
Chairman Matt gave us some simple and beautiful words, about a great
club man, an excellent all-rounder, and one of the nicest guys you
could wish to have a beer with on Sunday evening. The crowd of the
entire team, committee members, our families, former HHCC players,
regulars from the plough and Lynne, Richard’s widow – those that
knew and loved him, who he knew and loved – said goodbye to our
friend. (written by Dom Haddock)
RICHARD AUSTIN MEMORIAL SERVICE
Thursday 18th July 2013-07-17
All of the Hyde
Heath community-not only the cricket club but also villagers and the
Plough’s darts team are still shocked that we have lost such a
popular, respected and wonderfully entertaining man. We were lucky
to have Richard at Hyde Heath Cricket club-not only for his
undoubted talents-but also because he was just a lovely guy. It was
only 11 days ago that he played his last game for us.....most of us
are still able to recall their last conversations with him..whether
it was about the joy of spin bowling or congratulating Nick and
Emma’s young son Stanley on his performance.
Richard had played
at a good level for Stevenage cricket club before joining Hyde
Heath. He made an instant impact-taking 3 wickets on debut and
winning the bowling cup in 20002. He was a really good pace bowler
who regularly put in match winning performances and was a
considerable asset to our club. Charlie-our captain always wanted
him in the team as he was a proven match winner with both bat and
ball. Richard had some self belief and always believed that he could
make a difference Despite much mocking from his team mates Richard
decided in 2011 that he was no longer fit enough to bowl fast and
re-modelled himself as a spinner-to great effect-winning the bowling
cup for the last 2 years.
Cricket reveals many
aspects of our personalities and in over ten years at the club Rich
revealed many sides to his. Going away on tour together means one
gets to know your team mates and find out new and interesting
aspects of their personalities. I had the misfortune to share a
room with Richard and can confirm that he snored horribly after a
few pints of lager and a curry.
It was on tour in
Kent that he volunteered to don the wicket keeper’s gloves and then
promptly dropped the easiest catch ever seen..Widen reports;
“Richard called
confidently for the ball, settled himself under its trajectory,
steadied himself, and missed it completely. (refer to Ashes- as
supportive team mates..) We all howled with laughter...Richard
appeared rather puzzled..” and was eventually able to see the funny
side. However he could get quite grumpy on the field if catches
were dropped off his bowling or if he disagreed with the captain’s
field placings-and the club recognised this in 2008 by awarding Rich
a place on an Anger Management course. Richard accepted this
ridiculous award with great good humour.
Richard and Lynne
both came on the club’s tour to Menorca in 2003. Richard unwisely
used his suitcase for all his clothes and cricket kit. He rather
foolishly told Charlie and Jan’s 8 yr old daughter Harriet the
combination. She thoughtfully emptied his case of all his kit and
replaced it with a concrete umbrella stand. Rich was briefly in a
state of complete bewilderment.....
It was on tour that
we first encountered egg throwing as a form of post match
entertainment and Richard thoughtfully decided that this should be
introduced to Hyde Heath. He proudly appeared at a game with 2
dozen eggs which then ended up being splattered all over the common
as many cricketers demonstrated their lack of talent in the skills
of throwing and catching eggs.
Richard was always a
bit of a stats man and this manifested itself in several ways. He
created the Hyde Heath fantasy League on 2011. All the players were
rated at varying and often unflattering values-I was worth only
£1.50 (probably overpriced). I am not sure that we all understood
Richard’s complex rules but his league did provide us with a lot of
entertainment over the last 2 years. Last year he wrote a
marvellously entertaining match report and used Google Earth to
measure the length of 2 sixes hit by the same batsman on different
grounds.
Richard was a great
asset to the club off the field. He served on the committee for
many years and used his design skills to draw up some beautiful
pavilion plans. Just a few weeks ago his witty and original designs
adorned the barrels at our club beer festival. I think Rich loved
playing for Hyde Heath as well as a pint and a fag after, and
sometimes during, a game.
He loved bringing
Rosie to the club where she helped on clear up days and she proudly
followed her dad around the ground.
Richard was an
integral part of the club and the community and we will all miss him
in Hyde Heath. He will be long remembered by all of us. Our love,
thoughts and prayers are now with Lynne and Rosie and we will help
and support you in any way we can in the future.
Matthew Sims
Chairman, Hyde Heath
Cricket Club
....
from Tom Jeffreys ...
|
Richie
batting |
It's difficult really to know what to write, if anything at all –
especially on a flippant little cricket blog such as this. But it
would be wrong, I think, not to mark the tragic event in some
small way. To readers of Cricket Tragics, Richard Austin will be
known as a classy batsman, one-time excellent seam bowler before
turning cannily to off-spin, an endlessly thoughtful strategist of
the game, and a funny and warm-hearted individual, who was always
good company in the pub and whose entertaining writings graced
these pages from time to time. Of course, his life involved much
more than simply cricket (as it does for all of us) and it is his
partner Lynne and young daughter Rosie with whom our greatest
sympathies must lie.
But it is through cricket that we knew Richie, and so through
cricket that we will remember him. The club held a minute's
silence for him before our last match and we are privileged to be
hosting refreshments in the pavilion after his funeral this week.
I'm sure our warm and varied memories of Richie will live long
into the future, and many a glass will be raised in his name.
The last time I saw Richie was in the Plough after we'd been
thrashed by Great Gaddesden at the end of June. He was wearing his
superhero t-shirt from the Kent 'Invicta' tour of 2010, during
which he played a starring role with both bat and ball. It brought
back some great memories of his highest score for the club (a
dashing and extremely attractive 80-odd). Richie was one of those
naturally talented cricketers, who could change a game
single-handedly with either bat or ball. He was always a pleasure
to watch, to chat to, and to play alongside – whether sending one
of his signature pull strokes scorching to the mid-wicket
boundary, finding extra bounce off a good length, or, in recent
years, deceiving batsmen in the air with his flight and drift
away.
|
Richie
bowling |
Richie was also a great thinker about the game, and always had a
strategy or a plan of some kind up his sleeve. His attention to
detail was to the fore when he produced a piece of analysis on the
exact measurements of a 6 hit by Sohail in 2012, using
Google Earth to compare it to a similar blow struck by the
same batsman 3 years earlier. Only Richie would have gone to such
lengths for a blog read by about 12 people.
Some of his ideas were less successful than others, however, and
it is one such instance that is still one of my favourite things
ever to have happened in my years at Hyde Heath. Back in 2008,
away on tour at Harvil, Richie was bowling close to his very best,
getting the odd one to bounce and really zip through. Frustration
growing after repeated plays and misses from the batsman, Richie
requested that the short leg be moved to second slip. Much to the
bowler’s unconcealed annoyance, the captain, Matt Sims, refused.
But what should happen two balls later? Richie pitched one up on
middle and leg, the batsmen tried to flick it through midwicket,
instead chipping it straight to myself, at the disputed short leg
position, where I just about held onto a very straightforward
chance. Magic.
Richie was an excellent cricketer, but the great thing about
village cricket is that actually talent doesn't really matter very
much at all. Richie was a pleasure to play alongside and to know
and to call a friend. He will be greatly missed.
The picture
gallery below is a record of the happy times Richard spent with the club