 Richardson was educated at Winchester College and started his career at Derbyshire in the 1959 season, taking three wickets in his debut match against Worcestershire, and making his top score of 91 in his next match against Glamorgan.Against Kent, in one match he achieved his best bowling performance of 8 for 54 and in the other almost matched it with 7 for 31.In the 1960 season in a single match against Warwickshire he took 6 for 46 and 5 for 35.