Pattinson bowling 'better than ever'

Speedster James Pattinson is back bowling better than he ever has but only he will know when he’s ready to return to Test cricket, according to Victoria’s stand-in captain Cameron White.

Since returning to the Bushrangers’ Sheffield Shield side last month after injury kept him out of the first half of the season, Pattinson has bowled with impressive pace and collected 14 wickets in just three matches.

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But when Australia spearhead Mitchell Starc went down with a tour-ending foot injury in India following the second Test, it was Pat Cummins, who played his first Shield game in six years in the most recent round of matches, who got the nod to replace the left-armer.

Pattinson himself has revealed he asked selectors not to consider him for India, fearing a premature return to Test cricket could result in a recurrence of the injuries that have plagued his career. 

But while White deferred queries over Pattinson’s capacity to be saddled with a Test match bowling load so soon in his comeback to the man himself, the former Australia T20 skipper suggested his state teammate could have been a handful in the all-important third and fourth Tests in Ranchi and Dharamsala.

“I know he's really enjoying playing for Victoria and getting his workloads back to (a level where he can) play Test matches again," White said on Tuesday.

 

“He's a bit more experienced now so I think he's bowling better than ever.

“I think he understands what he needs to do and I think he's taken a lot of ownership of his rehab and his bowling action.

“From what I'm seeing of his performances, he's probably ready to go.

“It's just whether he thinks in his own mind and if the selectors think he's got the overs under his belt that can prepare him to make sure he plays Test cricket well and he doesn't get injured.”

Pattinson picked up a vital second-innings five-wicket haul in Victoria’s comprehensive win over Western Australia last week in Alice Springs.

After Hilton Cartwright posted a fighting century to keep the Warriors in the hunt, the right-armer removed the WA allrounder to spark a drastic collapse of 7-42 to leave Victoria just 83 runs to chase in the fourth-innings.

It was a match-defining spell that impressed White, who suggested Pattinson was simply bowling too fast for the Western Australia batsmen.

“What I'm seeing standing there (in the field) is very, very good stuff,” he said of Pattinson.

“He's bowling fast. I'm not sure if you saw any of the highlights of him bowling in Alice Springs, but that little spell (on day three) was very fast and far too quick for those batters at the time, especially with a bit of reverse swing.

“As you'd expect, he's getting better every game.

“When he and the selectors think the time is right, he'll be back playing for Australia which everyone wants to see."

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White also said it was crucial Victoria manage Pattinson, who's been linked with an off-season deal with English county side Nottinghamshire, for their final-round fixture against Queensland at the Gabba, which gets underway on Thursday as the ladder-leaders eye a third consecutive Shield title.

The win over WA saw the Bushrangers secure their place in the Shield final, and they’ll ‘host’ the tournament-decider in Alice Springs, barring second-placed NSW picking up an improbable amount of bonus points against the Warriors.

A Victoria ‘three-peat’ would be all the more notable considering they’ve had different coaches for each of the last three seasons; Greg Shipperd led them to the 2014-15 title, David Saker was at the helm in 2015-16 while Andrew McDonald has taken the reins this summer.

And with McDonald impressing in his first summer in charge of the Bushrangers, White believes the state could soon be on the hunt for another new coach.

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“Andrew McDonald has come in for his first season and he's done a great job,” he said. “I've said many times that I wouldn't be surprised if we're looking for a new coach in another couple of years as well.

“He's such a good coach and no doubt the people up the road (Cricket Australia) will be looking at him for all sorts of roles.

“So it'd be nice to tick one off for another new coach to come in and get a win straight away.”