#PlayCricket - James Pattinson

It’s amazing to consider James Pattinson is only 25 years old.

Bursting onto the international scene at 21 against an experienced New Zealand side, he took no time at all to claim his first scalp, that of captain Ross Taylor, following up with a Test-best 5-27 in the second innings.

But since then, 13 has proved an unlucky number for the Victorian quick, managing only 13 One-Day Internationals and Tests dogged by injuries.

Pattinson can remember his first foray into cricket - it actually wasn’t that long ago - picking up a bat to face up to his older brother Darren (who played one Test for England in 2008).

“It was in the backyard with my older brother who was ten years older than me, it was a good learning curve for me because he went pretty tough on me, when I was six and he was sixteen he was bowling pretty fast,” Pattinson said.

The 190cm speedster was soon thrust into competitive cricket, his statistics weren’t highlights but it was during this period that he fell in love with the game.

“I played my first game for the under-12s, I think I scored about four runs for the whole year and didn’t take a wicket, but I really enjoyed it.”

“I was mainly a batsman and when I turned 15 and grew a bit and got a bit stronger and decided to bowl fast like my brother because he was an idol of mine.”

Growing up in Melbourne’s South-East, Pattinson says the backyard matches could have easily caused traffic catastrophes and did have the window repairmen visit on a number of occasions.

“We were quite lucky, we had a decent size backyard but there were a lot of broken windows and Darren would have a go at me and then Dad would come out too and yell at me and then there would be me crying.

“We also lived next to a freeway and we used to hit the balls over there all the time so it was lucky we didn’t cause any crashes.”

Pattinson is desperately charging towards a Test recall, showing the passion and determination that comes through cricket, a sport he encourages all youngsters to give a go.

“Just give it a crack, it’s just a bit of fun and you meet so many friends as a young player and it’s such an amazing sport that can take you to amazing places, just have fun and enjoy it.”

Visit www.playcricket.com.au to find your nearest club and get started on the journey from Backyard to Baggy Green.