Richard Drewer

Richard Harris Drewer (born 12 June 1946) is an Australian cricketer. He played fourteen first-class matches and two List A matches for South Australia between 1974 and 1976.^[1]

Nicknamed "Stumpy",^[2] Drewer attended Scotch College,^[3] and spent many years playing South Australian district cricket for Sturt, Adelaide University and Adelaide cricket clubs,^[4] before making his debut for South Australia on 13 December 1974, against Queensland at Adelaide Oval, scoring 90 and eight.^[5]

Drewer, who was a DJ who played private parties under the name SWORD (an acronym for "The Swinging World of Rick Drewer"),^[6] was known for wearing his shirt unbuttoned to the waist^[2] and his uproarious laugh^[6] and quickly became a popular member of the South Australian team.^[7]

Drewer also received support from influential local sports reporter Alan Shiell, who argued that Drewer was, along with Ashley Woodcock, the best opening batsmen South Australia had.^[8] While South Australia won the Sheffield Shield in 1975/76, Drewer played poorly, averaging only 15.70 from five matches, including scores of 0, 0, 0 and five against Western Australia, falling to Dennis Lillee each time.^[9]

When South Australian captain Ian Chappell learnt that selectors had dropped Drewer from the squad to play New South Wales and Queensland without consulting Chappell, he threatened strike action.^[7]

In 2019 The Advertiser named Drewer as an opener in Scotch College's Greatest Ever Team.^[3]