ALTHOUGH Bradford & Bingley have two pacy operators with the new ball in Jack Hartley and Matt Simpson, it is no disrespect to them that skipper Phil Slater says that Richard McCarthy has been "incredibly difficult to replace".

The 53-year-old Australian, who is retiring at the end of the JCT600 Bradford League season, may have been playing second-team cricket at Wagon Lane for four seasons but Slater still has vivid memories of the former captain's capabilities at first-team level.

"Richard is not only a very, very good cricketer but he is a top bloke.

"He stepped down a level because of his body but in his pomp and afterwards he was a real handful.

"He bowled at 85mph-90mph, and didn't take a particularly long run up.

"He generated extra pace with a flick of his wrist. He would be bowling at 90 per cent and would then flick his wrist and beat batsmen for pace.

"You knew exactly what you were going to get from Richard.

"He didn't bowl any rubbish and could move it both ways. He was a captain's dream."

After a successful season at Adel in the Aire-Wharfe League in 1989, McCarthy made his debut for Bradford & Bingley in 1990, taking 1.032 wickets over a 22-year span up to 2011 to put him 11th on the all-time list of league wicket-takers at a very healthy average of 15.47.

But the former Victorian opening bowler McCarthy was also a fine batsman and an excellent fielder with cat-like reflexes.

Slater said: "Richard wasn't like many pace bowlers who came in the lower middle-order and would just try to hit everything out of the park.

"He would take his time, play himself in and then adapt his innings to the match situation.

"Richard was also a great fielder in the gully or the slips or close to the wicket in front, and was a great fielder off his own bowling, as witnessed by his 1,000th wicket when he was by no means a young man.

"It was at Saltaire and the ball was drilled back at him but he just swooped down and caught the ball by his ankle."

McCarthy received a guard of honour in his last home appearance on Sunday against Morley Seconds and made 27 in the relegation-threatened hosts' 174, with Morley being 19-2 before the contest was rained off.

Slater added: "We understand that Richard is going back to Australia but we have no idea when."

Tomorrow it is mostly a case of top v bottom in the first teams' First Division, with leaders Pudsey St Lawrence (281 points) being at home to third-from-bottom Undercliffe (168), third-placed Cleckheaton (266) at cellar dwellers Saltaire (143) and fourth-placed Hanging Heaton (256) at home to next-to-bottom Farsley (152), with the exception being second-placed Woodlands (280) at home to Pudsey Congs (sixth on 232).