Elliot Richtor - be the best you can be
Gordon District Cricket Club | September 30, 2024
Elliot Richtor had a long and successful career in first grade for Gordon District Cricket Club scoring 3,570 runs at an average of 30.51 between 2009 and 2019 and taking 57 wickets with his medium-pace bowling. He scored 787 runs in the 2016-17 season and took 22 wickets at an average of 17.82, resulting in him winning the O’Reilly Medal as NSW Premier Cricket Player of the Year in 2017, sharing the award with team-mate Mason Crane.
Elliot is currently Gordon District Cricket Club Head Coach.
Let’s find out more about Elliot's journey in the game.
CAAA is a proud sponsor of Gordon District Cricket Club
What year were you born?
1987
Can you remember your first game of cricket?
Not really. I was around 10 but don’t remember much of it.
Tell us briefly about your cricketing journey?
I played my junior cricket at Gordon before moving to play green shield for Wests. Upon completing school, i played Grade Cricket for Gordon between 2005 and 2019, whilst having 3 stints in England.
In which grade and at what age did you make your debut in senior cricket?
I was 17 and started in 4th grade vs Easts. Didn't make much of a contribution, scoring 8 runs and taking 1 wicket
What was the highest grade you played, and can you remember how you performed in your first game in that grade?
First Grade. Debuted at Drummoyne Oval vs Sydney in 2009. Wasn't required to do much other than field and knock off the last 20 runs to win, scoring 7* (although I did knick my first ball but fell short of second slip)
If you can share with our audience, how would you describe yourself as a cricketer?
Batting all-rounder. As a batter I liked to take the game on, whereas I was the opposite as a bowler, relying on my patience, accuracy and change ups.
What were your strengths as a player?
I was a versatile player who would take the game on. I was capable of batting anywhere in the order (although I preferred middle order) and was a handy white ball bowler with good accuracy and change ups/yorkers. Despite my lack of speed, I bowled a lot of death overs in white ball cricket
What was your highest score in senior cricket?
In Premier Cricket - 136, Gordon vs Manly at Chatswood Oval 2014. My highest score came in England - 175*.
What were your best bowling figures in senior cricket?
4-18 including a hat trick for Gordon. Picked up plenty of 4 wicket hauls in my career but could never pick up a 5 fa.
Who were the best three fast bowlers you have played against?
Pat Cummins - Made the mistake of hitting a 4 first ball. The next 2 overs were not in my half. Bowled a heavy ball
Daniel McLaughlin - Too quick and was not fun when he was targeting your ribs. I can remember seeing how far Kevin Pillay was standing back at Hurstville and he was still catching them head height.
Josh Lalor - His ability to get the ball going both ways was admirable. A tough competitor
Pat Cummins
Who were the best three spinners you have played against?
Steve OKeefe - Great control, change of pace and angles. Could get into the batters head. Really difficult to get away especially if you needed quick runs
Usman Qadir - I couldn't pick his wrongun. made me look foolish on a steaming hot day at Bensons Lane
Anthony Clark - Relentless and always trying to influence the game/make something happen.
Steve O'keefe
Who were the best 3 batters you’ve played against?
David Dawson - stylish player who seemed to love playing Gordon. Can recall him scoring several centuries against us
Adam Crosthwaite - Great competitor. His ability to go through the gears at will and wasn’t shy of getting into verbal battles.
Peter Nevill - same as Dawso, scored big runs against Gordon regularly. Great composure. Strong driver - he managed to break my finger whilst I was fielding at cover.
David Dawson
Who played the best innings you’ve seen firsthand playing with or against?
Ryan Gibson - 217* at Chatswood 2016. Scored a double century vs Hawkesbury the game before too. Was a fantastic innings, chance-less. Sometimes you have to admire great batting.
Was there any bowler or batter in particular who for whatever reason always seemed to cause you a few problems?
Anyone from Randwick - never scored runs against them
Can you recall a time when you thought, wow, this is a step or two up from what you were used to in grade cricket?
Playing St George at Hurstville in my first season of First Grade. Their attack included Copeland, Hazlewood, McLaughlin, Green, Zammit and Henriques, whilst they had Stoneman, Cazzulino, Wells and Henriques as their top 4.
Seeing how professional they were. We lost this game outright inside 5 sessions and they went on to win the premiership a month later (third in a row)
Who was the best wicket keeper you’ve seen firsthand playing with or against?
The guys mentioned as top bats would probably come into this equation, but I'm going to be biased and say Ash Doolan. Moved well and great hands.
Who are the two players you admire most in terms of skills and competitive spirit in the competitions you played?
Iain Beverley - someone willing to do anything for the team. A great leader and someone you wanted on your team.
Harry Evans - A stylish player who won the Bill O'Reilly medal and Tasmania's version of it too. Great cricketing knowledge. Would have loved to see him get more opportunities at higher levels.
Who was the best captain you had the good fortune to play with?
I have to split this between Mathew Kelly and Ed Howitt. Both were very successful captains at Gordon. They taught me what grade cricket was about as I was coming through the grades
Who has been your funniest teammate?
Reece Bombas. Would always have a story to tell. His exchanges with James Kennedy were comical
Can you recall some banter or an exchange on the cricket field that still makes you laugh today?
One half of ‘The Grade Cricketer', Ian Higgins, with a hilarious one liner at UNSW. It was just after lunch and the team was in stitches (he was laughing the hardest). I’ll keep it at that.
Who was your childhood hero?
Ricky Ponting
Who are the three sports people in the world you’d most like to meet?
Sir Alex Ferguson, Zinedine Zidane, Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson
What was your favourite ground to play at?
Village Green - UNSW. Generally scored runs there
What particular team did you especially look forward to playing against?
Mosman - Had a good record vs them and there were some fiery contests over the years.
What’s been your most memorable moment in cricket?
Scoring my first, First Grade century in 2013 vs Fairfield Liverpool. I had been going up and down between 1's and 2's for a few years until this but I feel that knock gave me the confidence and belief that I belonged at a first grade level. From there, winning the Bill O'Reilly medal alongside my teammate Mason Crane in 2016/17.
What’s the best win you’ve been involved with?
There's a couple, beating the defending Premiers Sydney Uni in 2011. Chasing 295, Steve Colley scored a magnificent century and when the game looked like it was slipping away, Daniel Smith came in and whacked a quick fire 64 to get us home with a few overs to spare. As a young side, this was our first big scalp in First Grade.
The other was chasing 400 in 80 overs against Mosman in 2018, a game we needed to win to sneak into the finals. We managed to chase it down with a few overs to spare despite no one scoring a century. The song was loud that day
Who are the three players from your playing days at the top of the list for a Saturday afternoon barbeque?
Iain Beverley, Leon Gulaptis, James Hosking
What’s the best advice you’ve received?
Simple but - be the best you can be
What is your occupation?
I have been in digital marketing for 10 years and have just started a new role at Digital Minds in North Sydney.
Are you still involved in cricket and if so, in what capacity?
Yes. Have been coaching since I stopped playing in 2019 and have been head coach of Gordon for the past 3 seasons.
If you were running a state cricket association what would your 2 priorities be to ensure cricket in the state remained strong and successful on and off the field?
It would be great if State and/or Test players were available for their clubs when possible. This would strengthen the competition but also give grade cricketers an opportunity to play against the best. I recall two test players in my first game of First Grade (Beau Casson for Gordon and Russell Arnold for Sydney). With all the T20 cricket today, this is far from a reality now.
Review how we can keep older players in the game. The mean age of Premier cricketers has dropped significantly over the past 20 years.
?
