The Future Is Bright - Richardson
14 February 2013
Tom Richardson expects his final season as Gloucestershire Chief Executive to be an exciting and prosperous one for the Club.
Having reflected in two website articles about his 12 years in the job, which will end in September, we asked Tom to take a look into the future.
“I think there is a good chance of success this summer and beyond,” he said. “We have a group of young players, who will be a year older, wiser and stronger, which should make them very competitive.
"Michael Klinger is coming to Captain us, who is not only a top class player, but by all accounts an outstanding leader. He is going to be around for two years and I believe that is going to make a significant difference.
“I also feel we could see a big season from Alex Gidman now that he has been freed from the responsibility of captaining the team through a really difficult period.
“You talk about doing a job through thick and thin, but in some respects Alex did it through thin and thinner, with the necessary reliance on guiding and developing young players.
“We have a crop of good pace bowlers, who now have some level of experience, and a couple of promising young spinners, allied to some senior and very promising batsmen, with the ability to make big scores, so all of that is very exciting.
“What we have to do is create an environment in which we can invest more each year and we have a business plan in place to go with the vital ground development work currently taking place. There is much to look forward to expectantly, rather than hopefully.
“We need to be in a position to retain the good players we already have and encourage even better ones to join us by offering them a positive and ambitious environment, with top class practice facilities.
“Our ground was tired and needed a revamp. But the development will change all that and make Gloucestershire a much more appealing Club to professional cricketers.
“At the moment we have a promising squad, but that potential has to be realised. The opportunity will now be there to increase revenue and therefore investment in the playing side, but it has to be grasped by making the better facilities work to the maximum advantage.
“Commercial success, cricketing success, community work and ground development must all merge together and feed off each other."
Tom fell in love with the Cheltenham Cricket Festival when it coincided with his first week as Chief Executive and this year he is looking forward to it with special relish.
“Cheltenham remains a favourite place of mine to watch cricket and the prospect of taking Twenty20 cricket there for the first time this summer is a hugely exciting one,” he said.
“It will be a brilliant venue for 20-over cricket and I am so looking forward to seeing that spectacle, as indeed are our sponsors, Brewin Dolphin, and everyone involved with the Festival."
Tom is not yet certain what path his life will take after leaving the Club, but he is already firmly intent on becoming a Trustee of the Gloucestershire's Youth Trust.
“It’s about encouraging young boys and girls to go into sport in general and cricket, in particular,” he said.
“That could mean anything from supporting some activity in Bristol or Gloucestershire to sending some young people abroad, be they decent young cricketers or simply involved in a scheme to make those involved play better.
“It is run by a group of trustees and I am very much looking forward to playing a part. It will give me an opportunity to put something back into cricket.
The final question to Tom was will he look back on his 12 years as Gloucestershire Chief Executive with pleasure.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I feel privileged to have done the job and I will miss it hugely. It’s nice to think that in years to come when I look back on this period of my life, it will bring a smile to my face."
