Greg Ritchie
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| Batting | Right-hand bat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1992 | Queensland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1], 12 December 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gregory Michael Ritchie (born 23 January 1960, Stanthorpe, Queensland) is a former Australian cricketer who played in 30 Tests and 44 ODIs from 1982 to 1987.
Ritchie played for Queensland between 1980 and 1992. He scored 10,170 runs in his first class cricket career at an average of 44.21 including 24 centuries and 54 fifties. In the year 2000 he was named as one of the seven greatest Sheffield Shield run scorers in Queensland history for amassing over 6,000 runs for his state.[1]
International career
Ritchie was affectionately known as "Fat Cat" due to his burly build. He was selected for Australia's 1982-83 tour of Pakistan as a middle-order batsman replacement for Greg Chappell. He scored his first century, 106 not out, in his second Test at Faisalabad. He was unable to force his way into the Australia side over the 1982-83 and 1983-84 summers but was picked on the 1984 tours of the West Indies and India and made the Australian side over the 1984-85 summer. He was a fixture in the middle order between 1985 and 1987 that included the 1985 The Ashes tour to England, where he scored his highest score 146 at Nottingham, the 1986 tours of New Zealand and India, and the 1986-87 England tour of Australia.
He was famously referred to by Alan Border at the 1986 Madras Tied Test versus India. Batsman Dean Jones was contemplating going off "retired ill" after vomiting at the crease and Border suggested that "a tough Queenslander" (Ritchie) could hack the conditions instead. Jones stayed on and scored a double century.
After cricket
Greg was well known outside cricket as an after dinner speaker and a travel agent. He also had a successful media career after playing. He played a comedy character, a supposed Punjabi Sikh with a full beard and turban called Mahatma Cote on Channel Nine's The Footy Show as well as other sports radio comedy chat segments.
Ritchie currently lives in Florida, USA. Greg has several existing business interests in the United States and Australia and currently is seen regularly as a commentator on PGAtour.com. [2][3]
References
External links
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