Andrew Richardson (second right) celebrates one of his five Leewards victims with wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh Jnr. (left), Danza Hyatt (second left) and other teammates on the first day of their regional Carib Beer Series match at Kensington Oval on November 25, 2005. Richardson took five for 32 as Jamaica dismissed the Leewards for 196. - Junior Dowie

By LeVaughn Flynn, Staff Reporter

Looking at the way he started out in cricket, next month's World Cup in the Caribbean should have been Andrew Richardson's first.

The 25 year-old fast bowler, who was first introduced to the sport by an uncle at age six in Kingston, had made his talents known from as early as 1996 when he was a part of Jamaica's first U-15 team that won the regional tournament. He captained the team the following year and in 1999 won the U-19 regional crown and then was promoted to captain in 2000. That same year, he was also a part of the West Indies U-19 team that competed in the World Cup in Sri Lanka.

Back injury

But following the World Cup, Richardson suffered a back injury, joining the long list of fast bowlers who are victims of lower back stress fracture. He took 18 months to fully recover but aggravated the injury again in 2004 while playing for the West Indies 'B' team.

"I think if I didn't have those injuries I would have been in the side already," stated Richardson, who is still awaiting his first selection to the West Indies senior team.

As a member of Kingston College's U-14 team competing in the Jackie Hendriks competition, Richardson was motivated to become a West Indies cricketer daily by a mural at the school.

"They had this wall of fame and it was my dream to go on this wall," Richardson expressed. "On the wall they had past Jamaica and West Indies cricketers and I always wished that one day I could see my name up there (as a West Indies cricketer)."

But during his period of injury, Richardson went through a range of emotions and his desire for playing at the top level waned.

"I really considered stop playing cricket at that time because injuries play a lot on your mind, it's not just physical. You wake up everyday with your back in pain and you want to play but your body is telling you you can't," he said.

Richardson was further troubled by the experience of past bowlers who failed to survive with the injury.

"Some people even compared my injury to that of Ian Bishop and it was the same injury that ended his career," he noted. His contemporary Jerome Taylor also battled with the same injury for about two years before making a successful comeback last year.

So there he was in 2004 at 23 years old contemplating quitting even before he had achieved his dream. But then Richardson heard the criticism that would fire him up. He said a member of the Jamaica Cricket Association at the time encouraged him to find something else he loved doing because of the severity of his injury.

"I personally took that as encouragement. Some people would say 'Oh he is right', but it encouraged me," he said. Richardson mated his new motivation with a foolproof plan to engineer a successful return.

"You have to think about what you want and who you want to be at the end of the day. One of my strong points is that I have the big picture but the thought process you put into it and how you plan to get there is very important," he explained.

With that positive attitude, Richardson worked on his action by changing his bowling technique after he was summoned by the International Cricket Council.

"I had to change everything from the way I run up, the way I pump my arms and my follow through," he said.

Richardson hasn't yet received the real chance to live up to his 'Most Promising Fast Bowler' titles in the 2004 and 2006 Carib Beer Series. But he should gain some valuable experience when he joins Essex First Division club Saw-bridgeworth in May to add to the exposure he gained with the West Indies 'A' team last year, which he says reminded him that his time will soon come.

"It shows that the selectors are thinking of you," he said of his 'A' team selection. "When the West Indies were touring New Zealand last year and Taylor got injured they had me and Tino Best as reserves so it gives me a little bit of encouragement that I'm not too far off."

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