With five wickets next to his name and no warnings for running on the pitch, comeback king Kane Richardson made a sizzling return to top-flight action despite his side's two-wicket loss to Victoria in Saturday's top-of-the-table blockbuster at Adelaide Oval.
Richardson's bowling approach, and more specifically his follow-through, had been the topic of much scrutiny after he was effectively defaulted mid-match in his one-day international debut against Sri Lanka at the same venue last month.
The 22-year-old paceman was banned after copping three warnings for encroaching on the danger area of the pitch.
He was not considered for the remainder of the one-day series and missed SA's recent Sheffield Shield clash against the Bushrangers while he undertook remedial work on his action to rectify the technical flaw.
The early evidence suggests it's been a success after his 5-61 very nearly led his side to victory.
"It's been a tough three weeks," Richardson said of his time away from matchday duties.
"But it's actually been good for me to get back in the nets and work on something I had to work on.
"I felt like tonight it was all good and they came out well.
"I feel like in the nets and in club cricket it hasn't been an issue.
"It's just good to play."
Richardson was fully aware of the scrutiny he would be under from the moment he released his very first ball.
"I saw that (FoxSports Pitch Map graphic) at the start and you always know they (commentators) are going to be all over you," he said.
"Even the umpires were, but they were good.
"To bowl 13 overs and not get a warning was a good sign.
"Going forward it shouldn't be an issue."
Despite Richardson's superb return to the bowling crease, the Redbacks were denied a fifth straight win by some late-game heroics from the bat of big John Hastings.
"Credit to Hastings - he played really well," Richardson said.
"If he gets out, it's probably the game.
"It was one of those nights where he hit everything in the middle.
"We dropped him in the deep but he still smashed the pants off that one as well.
"Every now and then that comes off, so credit to him.
"He was too good."
Hastings' power-hitting at the death was something the Redbacks were missing, despite wonderful knocks from Callum Ferguson (110) and Michael Klinger (86), who helped SA to 7-255, a total that looked safe for the majority of the reply before Hastings got going.
Richardson felt it was just shy of par.
"It probably wasn't enough runs in the end," he said.
"But in saying that we probably should have won."
Crucially, Richardson's new-ball partner Gary Putland pulled up lame after 13 balls with yet another quad strain.
The Redbacks' bowling balance and late-game prospects were hampered with the absence of the injury-prone left-arm swing merchant and renowned death bowler.
"With Putsy going down we were a bowler short at the end," Richardson said.
"On a wicket like that he probably would have suited it.
"We saw at the start, he bowled two overs for four.
"He's shown he can bowl at the death.
"He's done (injured) what he did (quad) three weeks ago in club cricket.
"I'm not sure if he came into the game with a niggle or not.
"You just feel sorry for him because it seems to happen every couple of months for him."
First Posted 10 February, 2013 11:25AM AEST
