Australian cricketer Greg Ritchie remembers feeling the love at the SCG

Former Aussie cricketer Greg Ritchie has lifted the lid on when female spectators lifted their shirts for him during a one-dayer in Sydney.

Times were very different when Greg Ritchie played.

Greg Ritchie was known as “Fat Cat” during his cricket career because of his portly frame but there was one day at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) when women in the stands were more focused on his safe hands than his figure.

The former Australian star, who played 30 Tests and 44 one-day internationals, was reminiscing about days gone by when prompted to elaborate on the day he was showered with attention by members of the opposite sex mid-match.

Speaking on the Keeping it Real podcast with former Victorian wicketkeeper Darren Berry, ex-South Australian gloveman Tim Ludeman and broadcaster Matt Stewart, Ritchie dished the details of one particularly wild night in Sydney.

During the second innings of a one-dayer against the West Indies, Australian captain Greg Chappell sent the middle order batsman to field at third man — which didn’t exactly fill him with delight because he knew things were getting rowdy on the other side of the fence.

“It’s right in front of the old Sydney hill and I thought, ‘Oh no’. I was scared, I would have loved to have been somewhere in the circle,” Ritchie said.

“So I go down there and they’re all giving you a razzing and they’ve all been on the drink all afternoon.”

But things improved for Ritchie when he swallowed a catch on the boundary, much to the delight of the fans behind him.

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Ritchie’s safe hands sparked an unexpected response one night at the SCG.

From there, things took an X-rated turn as Ritchie found himself “scoring in the breast competition”.

“I’ve got the crowd on my side and as a bit of a gesture … a few of them (female spectators) thought it would be a good idea if I had a look at their kahunas and that was going to be a bit of a prize for me,” Ritchie said.

“Just lifted their shirts up.

“I put my hands up to give them both 10 out of 10. So for the next 40 minutes of fielding in that position, after a change of end every over I’d get down there, I’d have a new entourage of girls wanting to get a score.

“Chappell said to me, ‘What’s going on down there?’ When I told him, I had nine other volunteers to say, ‘Can I go down?’

“It was unbelievable. Again, the game has changed but that was the culture in those days.”