Tenterden cricketer Tom Richards hit the form of his life - scoring three centuries in five days.

He broke two bats on his way to 128 in a midweek friendly win against Westfield.

The replacement worked even better as Richards made a career-best 201 not out in a Kent League victory over Upchurch.

And he followed up the next day with 125 as Tenterden drew a friendly with Bodiam.

Richards has gone from being seen as “a bowler who could bat” to the “all-rounder tag that I’ve always been trying to prove to people”.

“Every so often you hit a purple patch in a season but nothing’s ever been this good,” said Richards, 25.

“It’s just nice to be able to contribute runs to the team.

“The double hundred came at a time when the side needed a win on the board and that put us in a position to do it.

“I scored the first ton on the Wednesday but broke both my bats doing it, so I had to pick a new one up on Friday.

“You don’t know how it’s going to be but it worked even better and everything fell into place.

“It was a strange feeling - one of those freak moments.”

Richards, who’s been with Tenterden since he was 10, raced to his double century in a thrilling end to the innings.

He added: “If I remember correctly, I brought up my hundred in the 43rd or 44th over and one of the boys joked about doubling it up.

“I laughed it off but decided to try and hit everything and then the closer it got, the more I started thinking about it. It was surreal.

“Everything started coming out of the middle of the bat and the second hundred came in something like 33 balls.”

Richards might have been feeling the effects before his third century but was feeling good by the time he walked out to the middle against Bodiam.

“I had coaching with the juniors in the morning so I’d almost loosened up again by the time I went out to bat,” he said.

“I wasn’t as sore as I thought I was going to be.

“It’s one of those where you don’t hit this kind of form too frequently, so a little bit of pain here and there is worth it.”

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