Cricket
Cricketer's son commits suicide
2009-05-15 12:27
Cape Town - Cricket great Barry Richards's eldest son has committed suicide, reports said on Friday.
Richards, 63, who was born and raised in Durban but now lives in Perth, Australia, confirmed to The Star newspaper that his son, Mark, in his 20s, committed suicide this week.
Richards said that his wife, Anne, from whom he had been separated for some time, was also distraught and unable to come to terms with the tragedy.
It is believed that he had a drug problem and was recently admitted to a rehabilitation centre.
"It's a difficult time to talk about it now. We are shattered. I'd rather not talk about it now but will eventually do so later on," said Richards, who was one of the world's greatest batsmen in his day.
Richards played in only four Tests against the Australians in 1970, scoring 508 runs at an average of 72.57. He played for Natal from 1964 to 1983, and also for Hampshire and Western Australia. He scored 28 358 runs in his first-class career for an average of 54.74.
Richards was earlier this year inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, the highest honour for cricketers.