Former England batsman Richardson dies

Peter Richardson, the former Worcestershire and Kent batsman who played 34 Tests for England, has died aged 85.

Richardson was brought into the England side at opener in 1956 after the retirement of Len Hutton and made scores of 81 and 73 on debut against Australia. His maiden hundred came in the fourth Test at Old Trafford as England retained the Ashes.

He went on to score five hundreds in his first 16 Tests but lost his place after a poor tour of Australia in 1958-59 and only featured sporadically thereafter.

In the 1957 Trent Bridge Test against West Indies, he played alongside his brother, Dick - they were the last brothers to represent England before the Hollioakes in 1997. Their other sibling, Bryan, also played occasionally for Warwickshire.

An amateur with Worcestershire, where he was named one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year in 1957, he moved to Kent in 1959 and took up professional status. He made 1000 runs in a season on 11 occasions (four times passing 2000) during a 16-year career.

Richardson was also known as a dressing-room prankster and was fond of sending pseudonymous letters to the Daily Telegraph.