'It's an honour to be chosen as ICC chief'

David Richardson had a safe pair of hands when he kept wicket for South Africa during the 1990s — and now the cricketing world can rest easy knowing that the sport itself will soon be in that same safe pair of hands. Richardson, who took nearly 300 international catches in 42 Tests and 122 One Day Internationals (ODIs), is set to be confirmed as the new chief executive of International Cricket Council (ICC). The 52-year-old was one of South Africa's finest wicketkeeper-batsmen. At a time when cricket is passing through a phase in which all three formats of the game — Tests, ODIs and Twenty20s — are competing vigorously against each other, a man who was a master of his craft can be expected to help the sport overcome its challenges.It's not easy to find a cricketer who also has the skills of a good administrator. Fortunately for the game, Richardson, despite spending hours honing his talents as a player, also found time to prepare for the career of a lawyer. After his retirement from the sport he became the business director with Octagon South Africa and a media commentator before taking over as the ICC's first general manager of cricket in January 2002. He has held the post with dignity for nearly a decade.   Speaking about his appointment as ICC chief executive, Richardson said: “It is a great honour to be nominated as the chief executive of the ICC. I am delighted and thank the ICC Board for their approval. It has been a privilege to serve as ICC general manager of cricket and that work will continue until such time as the ICC Annual Conference ratifies my nomination. I am looking forward to working closely with all the members and stakeholders in the game.” Outgoing chief executive Haroon Lorgat was also from South Africa and Richardson praised his compatriot, saying: “It is an honour to be following a fellow South African, Haroon Lorgat, in this role. I have learnt a lot under his leadership and thank him for his support in the last four years.” The cricketing world saw Richardson for the first time when, as a 32-year-old, he played in the first ever ODI between South Africa and India in November 1991 at the Eden Gardens. The Clive Rice-led South African team was given a rousing welcome by the Kolkata fans on their return to international cricket and a full house watched the action. Richardson took a catch to dismiss Ravi Shastri for a duck and also produced a brilliant stumping to see off Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, but the tourists were beaten by three wickets. Five months later Richardson made his Test debut against the West Indies at Bridgetown. In his first Test he took six catches, including two that dismissed the legendary Brian Lara in both the innings. By 1994, he had blossomed into a fine batsman. Following scores of 59 against Australia at Durban and 48 and 58 against England at Leeds and the Oval, respectively, Richardson came close to scoring his first Test century against New Zealand at Johannesburg, but got out for 93 in the first Test of the series. Determined to get to three figures, he finally got there in the third Test at Cape Town, when he scored 109 in a Proteas innings that also saw skipper Hansie Cronje hit a century. In ODIs, South Africa's strong batting line-up meant Richardson rarely got much time in the middle — in one Pepsi Cup tournament in Sharjah he played five matches, but didn't get a chance to bat even once. Richardson played his last international match in 1998, but has been involved with cricket as an administrator ever since. His work helped ensure that international executive recruitment firm Egon Zehnder did not have any hesitation in recommending his name to ICC Nominations Committee for cricket's top post.