Kent Test batsman dies

Cricket

Former Kent and England batsman Peter Richardson has died at the age of 85 .

The left-hander joined Kent in 1959 from Worcestershire and played 34 Tests and scored five centuries and nine fifties for England.

The opener was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1957 and played as an amateur before turning pro in 1959 and joining Kent, where he spent six seasons.

Richardson scored 9,975 of his 26,055 first-class runs for Kent in 162 matches with an average of 35.88 in 290 innings.

He scored 52 half-centuries and 18 hundreds, scoring more than 1,000 runs in five successive seasons from 1960 to 1964.

His occasional right-arm off-spin also claimed 11 first class wickets (four at Kent) and three in Test cricket.

Sam Billings hit an unbeaten careerbest 78 off 50 balls to inspire Islamabad United to victory against Quetta Gladiators at Sharjah in the Pakistan Super League.

Chasing 149 to win, he hit eight fours and three sixes, sharing a 63-run stand off 43 balls with Australian all-rounder Shane Watson to steer the reigning champions within sight of the target.

His performance earned him the manof-the-match award and he said: “It helps when guys like Watson come in and smack it like he did.

“The guys in the subcontinent are good with variations but I felt as it if I was there until the end, we will win.”

Billings and his England team-mates were due to arrive in St Kitts and Nevis yesterday (Wednesday) before playing two 50-over warm-up matches against Presidents XIs at Warner Park on Saturday and Monday (both 1.30pm GMT) ahead of the first of three ODIs against the West Indies in Antigua on March 3.

Further ODIs will take place on March 5 in Antigua and March 9 in Barbados.

Former Kent and England swing bowler Richard Ellison is one of five new cricket liaison officers appointed ahead of the new season.

The 57-year-old played for Kent between 1981 and 1993 and since retirement has worked with several Kent cricketers at Millfield School including Daniel Bell-Drummond, Calum Haggett and Charlie Hartley.

Ellison, Tim Boon, Dean Cosker, Wayne Noon and Lloyd Tennant join four former players originally appointed for the 2015 season – including former Kent batsman Graham Cowdrey – plus former international umpire Steve Davis, who joined the panel of CLOs last summer.

The aim is to have one of the panel of 10 CLOs at every match in both divisions of the Specsavers County Championship and both the North and South Groups of the NatWest T20 Blast and the Royal London One-Day Cup.

They will be managed by Andy Smith, a former Surrey all-rounder who rejoins the ECB in a new role as cricket operations manager.

Tickets are on sale for a Cheltenham Festival preview night at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, on Tuesday, March 7.

The event will run from 7pm and features a panel including Simon Clare, Claude Duval, Paul Jones and Toby Lawes.

For more information www.kentcricket.co.uk visit

Richard Ellison is one of five new cricket liaison officers