Pattinson pockets red to taste English white

County batsmen are breathing a sigh of relief tonight after James Pattinson's spell in English first-class cricket has come to a close.

The Australia Test bowler has terrorised Division Two batsmen in three matches, taking 20 wickets at 11.15 with the Dukes ball, opening the bowling alongside England quick Stuart Broad.

Pattinson completed his stint with a further three wickets in the second innings against Sussex, to finish with seven for the match.

Pattinson's fourth ball of the second day brought a wicket, and it wasn't much longer before he had his next as Notts romped to a huge innings and 88-run victory, with the Victorian claiming 7-55 for the match.

Since returning to first-class cricket earlier this year following a serious back injury, Pattinson has claimed 44 wickets at 14.57, and his 20 scalps in English conditions are the most in the second division.

Pattinson has not played a top-flight 50-over match since the 2015 Matador Cup but would now expect to feature in all eight of Nottinghamshire's matches in England's domestic one-day competition before Australia duty calls.

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One of those county games will be a match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, one of the venues where Australia's Champions Trophy campaign will take them.

The amount of 50-over cricket will make Pattinson one of Australia's better prepared bowlers heading into the Champions Trophy and perhaps raises the possibility of Australia fielding a four-pronged pace attack with Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

Nottinghamshire have been offered a dozen players as potential replacements, according to the county's director of cricket, Mick Newell.

But Notts are hopeful Pattinson may make a return to Trent Bridge after Australia's Champions Trophy campaign is over.

"There's the small hope James might play two more games after the Champions Trophy. That's at Cricket Australia's discretion and we've spoken with them a bit about that," Newell told the Nottingham Post.

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"It's a tricky search because you've got to pretty much write off anyone who is in the IPL or Champions Trophy. The West Indies are playing in June. Afghanistan are playing then," Newell said.

"There's a lot going on so it's not easy but we are looking to find someone who will make the team better."

Pattinson's exit could open the door for another Australian to make a mark in county cricket however, with Newell open to the possibility of extending the workload of Dan Christian, who has signed on for the T20 competition.

"We'd not really looked at the remaining four day games because they're so far ahead and we've got Ish Sodhi and Dan Christian in place," Newell said.

"There's one four-day game in August that one of them could play in anyway so we'd not got too far down the line.

"We could sign no one and look to Ish Sodhi and DC (Christian) is a possibility too. He could be here after the IPL."

Christian is currently playing alongside Steve Smith at the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise. 

Champions Trophy 2017 Guide

Squads: Every Champions Trophy squad named so far

Group A: Australia, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh.

Group B: India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan.

Schedule

Warm-up matches

26 May – Australia v Sri Lanka, The Oval

27 May – Bangladesh v Pakistan, Edgbaston

28 May – India v New Zealand, The Oval

29 May – Australia v Pakistan, Edgbaston

30 May – New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Edgbaston

30 May – Bangladesh vs India, The Oval

Tournament

1 June – England v Bangladesh, The Oval (Day)

2 June – Australia v New Zealand, Edgbaston (D)

3 June – Sri Lanka v South Africa, The Oval (D)

4 June – India v Pakistan, Edgbaston (D)

5 June – Australia v Bangladesh, The Oval (D/N)

6 June – England v New Zealand, Cardiff (D)

7 June – Pakistan v South Africa, Edgbaston (D/N)

8 June – India v Sri Lanka, The Oval (D)

9 June – New Zealand v Bangladesh, Cardiff (D)

10 June – England v Australia, Edgbaston (D)

11 June – India v South Africa, The Oval (D)

12 June – Sri Lanka v Pakistan, Cardiff (D)

14 June – First semi-final (A1 v B2), Cardiff (D)

15 June – Second semi-final (A2 v B1), Edgbaston (D)

18 June – Final, The Oval (D)

19 June – Reserve day (D)