Daily Blast
FORMER CAPTAIN 'VACATIONS' FROM CRICKET
by Berry True
When the Cricket Web XI walked onto the field for the first Test against South Africa seven seasons ago, Richard "Langeveldt" Hingston was doing the leading. The first man to captain the team, Hingston led the CW XI to an inspired maiden Test win in the second Test match of that series. Sadly, success otherwise was hard to come by.
After 3 tours and 25 international caps, Hingston lost his captaincy and place in the side in a move controversial at the time. Indeed, the right-handed allrounder found personal success hard to come by, whilst he struggled personally for consistency of performance, the team struggled for victories. His captaincy record in Tests was 2 wins, 4 losses and 5 draws, whilst his ODI record was a better 9 wins and 4 losses.
Since his relegation to domestic cricket, Richard Hingston worked hard on his game and produced several inspired performances whilst leading the Cricket Web 'B' team and later as a regular player for Cricket Web Blue. This success was largely in the First Class game, however.
His batting averages over his past 4 full seasons read:
278 runs at 34.75 (Season 3)
451 runs at 34.69 (Season 4)
496 runs at 35.42 (Season 5)
705 runs at 33.57 (Season 6)
Bowling has not quite been as solid though. Still Hingston has worked a very poor start to his bowling career down to a role as an economical and sometimes quite effective legspinner.
The reasoning behind the departure of one of the most recognizable figures in CW cricket is not clearly known, but Hingston has suggested he wants to take a break from the game. In a phone conversation with yours truly, he stated, "My ying and my yang have become misaligned, and I've split up from my partner and decided for personal reasons to leave CW land, until things calm down at least."
It is not known who the partner that "Langeveldt" refers to is, but it is speculated that his current affair lies with Jolanda Ceplak, or perhaps Kristin Davis. Some suggest it may even be someone outside of the celebrity world, though the dating habits of Hingston would certainly suggest otherwise. Indeed it appears that Richard Hingston may be trapped in a "love square", as he joked with the press outside of trendy nightclub 'Aussie Aroma' a few months back.
Hingston stated that he has to deal with pressing issues in San Andreas before he can devote his attention fully to cricket once more.
There were rumours that the powers that be in South African cricket were attempting to get him signed up and eligible for selection. We here at the Blast wondered, "would the former CW captain consider such a thing?" For our investigations we contacted South African skipper Graeme Smith briefly to address the issue. He laughed and hung up.
So it appears that Cricket Web cricket will first have to endure life without the presence of Langeveldt, if only for a brief period, and no doubt plot for his return. Perhaps it will be in joyous celebration as he returns a transformed player, or he may well never be the same. Only time will tell, as the cliché so marvellously dictates.
R Hingston
RHB
LS
Test Career
Matches: 12
Innings: 22
NOs: 2
Runs: 513
Average: 25.65
50: 1
100: 0
HS: 54*
Overs: 291.5
Wickets: 10
Average: 81.50
5w: 0
10w: 0
BB: 2/35
SR: 175.08
Econ: 2.79
ODI Career
Matches: 13
Innings: 8
NOs: 0
Runs: 114
Average: 14.25
50: 0
100: 0
HS: 38
Overs: 99.1
Wickets: 15
Average: 32.80
4w: 0
5w: 0
BB: 3/37
SR: 39.66
Econ: 4.96
First Class Career
Matches: 53
Innings: 97
NOs: 13
Runs: 2743
Average: 32.65
50: 12
100: 2
HS: 111
Overs: 1009.3
Wickets: 71
Average: 40.39
5w: 0
10w: 0
BB: 3/30
SR: 85.31
Econ: 2.84
List-A OD Career
Matches: 70
Innings: 55
NOs: 6
Runs: 1012
Average: 20.65
50: 3
100: 0
HS: 71
Overs: 376.1
Wickets: 33
Average: 51.24
5w: 0
10w: 0
BB: 3/37
SR: 68.39
Econ: 4.50