JAMAICA’S fast bowler Andrew Richardson is satisfied with the way he has been bowling this season, despite not dominating the wicket-taking column in the ongoing West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) four-day championship.

Richardson has taken 11 wickets in four regional outings so far at a tidy average of 22.36, including an impressive 5-36 in the opening round victory over the Windward Islands last month. His 57 first-class career matches has produced 158 victims at a cost of 25.39 each.

He said he is in good rhythm, and though teammates have put down chances off his bowling, he regards it as an unavoidable element of cricket.

“I’m fit… I feel strong and I think the ball is coming out how I want it to, but some things have not gone my way. It’s a matter of being unfortunate some of the times, but I know that’s the nature of the sport,” the strongly built 30-year-old told the Observer.

The former Kingston College student, who has suffered his fair share of injury woes throughout his career, said he will try to build on a disciplined, if not fruitful start to this four-day campaign.

“Sometimes there are good days and other times things are not so good. I just have to stick with it and try and get the job done to help Jamaica,” he said.

Richardson made his first-class debut in the 2002-2003 season and rose to regional acclaim by taking 36 wickets the following year before suffering a recurrence of a serious back injury while playing league cricket in Lancashire, England.

He desperately and painstakingly defied the odds to regain full fitness and snared 33 wickets three seasons ago and was rewarded with a spot on the West Indies squad which toured England in 2009.

The speedster was retained for the home series against Bangladesh, but subsequently pulled out due to the strike that resulted from a dispute between the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and the regional board.

He has not quite reaped the same success of yesteryear, but for the moment Richardson is focused on Jamaica’s surge to the semi-final stage of the regional tournament and the unique and highly enticing prospect of dominating the four-day format for five consecutive years.

They are currently tied with the powerful Barbados outfit of 1977-1980, which took four straight titles.

Jamaica are now locked in battle with Trinidad & Tobago in fifth round action and he stressed the need to get more points than their rivals to secure home advantage for the semis.

“We just have to do our thing. Our aim is to come number one and then we have home field advantage in the semi-final, so getting more points that our opponent is crucial. That is our main aim at the moment,” said the man, who plays for Kingston CC on the local club circuit.

Jamaica, on 48 points, comfortably lead second-placed T&T (28) after winning all four previous preliminary phase matches.

Guyana and Barbados are joint third on 24 points. The Combined Campuses and Colleges (12), the Windwards (12) and the Leewards (0) are the other three teams.

Jamaica round out their preliminary fixtures against the Combined Campuses at the Three Ws Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados from March 23-26.