Richards heard Barty was interested in cricket in early 2015. She needed a break from tennis but had never swung a bat before, although she had watched the game on television with her father, Rob. Loading "I had heard she wanted to give it a try so I rang her up to ask if she was serious. She said she was, she needed something different." He invited her to hit a few balls at Queensland Cricket's field in Brisbane where Barty put on the pads for the first time. "I fed her about 150 balls on the bowling machine. She only missed about two or three and the rest of them she hit flush.

"It was really one of the most extraordinary things from my point of view. "She was the most gifted person I have ever seen come across from another sport. We've had a few over time but I've not seen anyone like her before or since." Richards asked other coaches to come and look at the way she hit the ball. Everyone was stunned. "I kept asking her, 'are you sure you haven't played before?'" After the session, he told her to take some time to think about her future. The next day, Barty called and said she was serious about playing. It was a seamless transition.

"We all certainly learnt a lot from her about being professional athletes," former Australian captain and Brisbane Heat teammate Jodie Fields said. "She was a great part of our team and obviously so talented to bring her skills across to cricket. "She almost outshone everyone in that sport as well." Barty's hand-eye coordination was remarkable and she quickly mastered the "handy off-spinner", a manouevre that often takes time to perfect. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Her professionalism, dedication to fitness and rigorous training inspired teammates. Richards said she was hard on herself, and would stay back every day to practice.

"Eventually we had to stop her coming in every day. She got a sore elbow from hitting so many balls because it's a different motion from cricket. She just wanted to get better." But it was her humility that people admired the most. "When you know her, you know that she’s such a down-to-earth girl. I'm just super stoked for her and she deserves everything," said former teammate Delissa Kimmince. "It's nice to know that the fame doesn’t really change her. She’s just Ash Barty from Ipswich and I have no doubt that’s how she wants to be known." Richards is confident she could have gone "all the way" in cricket if she had stuck with it but deep down, he knew her future was in tennis.