Multi-sport athlete Richard Goodwin helping to lead Philippines cricket rise

Given cricket is a fledgling sport in the country, it is no surprise the Philippines national team includes a few crossover athletes for their assignment in Oman this week.

During their second match of the T20 World Cup Qualifier in Muscat, which ended in defeat to Nepal, Richard Goodwin opened the bowling. A day earlier, against Canada, he had done similar with the bat.

To term him an all-rounder rather undersells the point. Cricket is the third sport at which Goodwin has represented the Philippines. He has previously played for the Tamaraws rugby league side, and the Volcanoes in union’s abridged format of sevens.

As if that all is not remarkable enough, consider the fact Goodwin only took up cricket in his 20s having excelled at baseball first – a sport in which he represented Australia up to Under 23 level.

“I grew up playing baseball at a very high level and even went to America to play a little bit of college ball,” Goodwin, 34, said.

“Once I got to 23 I felt I’d done that for a long time, played a lot of baseball, and had a few mates wanting to play cricket from the [rugby] football team, so decided we’d play cricket.

“The skills transferred over really well. I absolutely loved it, from the social side and also the competitiveness of it.”

Goodwin was born in the Philippines, and moved to Australia with his Filipina mother when he was six. He grew up playing baseball and rugby union, before focusing on the former when he was 16.

He played for the Philippines national league team from its formation in 2012, and, in the other code, he went to the Shanghai Sevens in the same year.

Then he thought he would give cricket a crack, too.

Richard Goodwin has opened the batting and the bowling for the Philippines at the ICC