On This Day: Richards & Greenidge Put Glamorgan To The Sword

Hampshire Cricket's historian Dave Allen takes a look back on timely memorable moments in his ‘On This Day’ series.

Hampshire (371-4) v Glamorgan (207) , Gillette Cup, Southampton: 16 July 1975

The performances of Hampshire’s team of the mid-1970s were probably the finest in their history, with one Championship title in 1973, a second the following year cruelly snatched by the weather, and a possible third in 1975 (they finished third) - plus two Sunday titles in 1975 & 1978.

They mystery though is that the team of Richards, Greenidge, Roberts, Jesty, Turner, Sainsbury and the others never found the way to a Lord’s Final, despite some spectacular displays in knock-out matches.

On this particular day they batted first and Richards and Greenidge, after a somewhat careful start simply destroyed the Glamorgan attack. Richards led the way initially, completing his hundred in little more than a run-a-minute and when he was dismissed for 129 (210-1) just after the normal lunch interval, Greenidge took over.

He too went past three figures hitting seven sixes and 17 fours on his way to 177, then the highest individual score ever in a limited-overs match.

With some additional runs from the next Hampshire batsmen the 60-overs innings closed on 371-4, a World Record in that format, and still, 45 years later, Hampshire’s highest-ever total. Andy Roberts then took 3-17 as Glamorgan’s forlorn chase ended in the 51^st over on 207; the excitement had come earlier.

Almost typically, Hampshire went to Old Trafford for the next round and after their illustrious openers had posted 32 for the first wicket, they crumbled to the ‘one-day kings’ - all out 98 in the 44^th over, they lost by six wickets in the 32^nd over. The first Final was still 13 years away by which time only David Turner and Coach Peter Sainsbury remained.