Pattinson suspended, ruled out of first Test

Paceman James Pattinson has been suspended by Cricket Australia and will miss the first Domain Test against Pakistan at the Gabba.

The speedster has been found guilty of a Level Two breach of CA's Code of Conduct following Victoria's Marsh Sheffield Shield game against Queensland last week. Under the Code, a Level Two breach is enough to trigger a suspension.

The exact details of Pattinson's offence at the MCG last week have not been revealed, but he was found guilty of a Level Two breach of Article 2.13, which relates to personal abuse of a player.

In a statement, CA said Pattinson "apologised immediately and unreservedly to the opponent and the umpires and did not contest the charge".

"I made a mistake in the heat of the moment," Pattinson said.

"Straight away I realised I was in the wrong, and I apologised immediately, both to the opponent and to the umpires.

"I have done the wrong thing and accept the penalty. I'm gutted to miss a Test match, but the standards are there for a reason and the fault is mine."

Pattinson has now been found guilty of a Code of Conduct breach in three of his past six Shield games.

He was found guilty of two separate breaches in March this year, the first for abuse of equipment in a match against NSW and the second for showing dissent during a Shield game in Adelaide a week later. These offences were considered minor and classified as Level One breaches.

While a third Level One offence within 18 months would have triggered a suspension, the fact Pattinson's latest breach has been classed as Level Two was enough alone to see him banned.

According to the Code, four Level One breaches within an 18-month period could lead to the imposition of 12 suspension points, which is the equivalent of six Test matches or 12 limited-overs games (or a combination of both depending on the schedule).

It means Pattinson will risk a lengthy ban if he's found guilty of another breach of the code - no matter how minor - in the next 10 months. 

Pattinson was no certainty to play in the first Test at the Gabba, starting on Thursday, but his ban has paved the way for Mitchell Starc to partner state teammates Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in a three-man pace attack.

Skipper Tim Paine said Pattinson's behaviour was not in keeping with the standards set by the Australian team.

"He knows that he's let himself down and let the group down," Paine told ABC Grandstand.

"We hold ourselves to really high standards now with our behaviour ... so we're disappointed in that.

"James has owned up and he knows he's made a mistake. He's apologised for it and will come back bigger and better."

In a statement, CA's Head of Integrity and Security Sean Carroll said: "We have a duty to uphold the highest standards of behaviour and the action taken in this matter demonstrates that. On this occasion, James acknowledges he fell short of that expectation."

Speaking during the Shield match at the MCG, Pattinson played down his own chances of playing in Brisbane and indicated that he was targeting a Test return later in the summer.

"It will be pretty tough to get a gig in that team, but it's just great to be in the squad," he said.

"I think those three (Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood) will probably get the first look in.

"Hopefully that chance will come at some stage."

Starc has out-performed Pattinson in the early rounds of the Shield this season – he's taken 17 wickets at an average of just 17 compared to Pattinson's 11 wickets at 29 – but former Test skipper Ricky Ponting told cricket.com.au last week that selections during the Ashes this year indicated Pattinson is ahead of Starc in the pace pecking order.

"I absolutely love everything that Mitchell Starc brings to the table," Ponting said.

"But at the same time, they've been reluctant to play him in the last few series. He only played the one Ashes Test match and he did OK in that game.

"Pattinson's got a good record in Brisbane as well (he has 29 first-class wickets at 20 at the Gabba compared to 38 at 31 for Starc).

"That's the other thing that might go in his favour; in a place where the ball does swing a bit, he generally pitches it up and takes it away from the right-handers.

"It's a tough one but thinking about where they've come from and their reluctance to play Starc, I think they might lean Pattinson's way again.

"I think (Starc) will have to do something pretty special at training to be part of that team."

Domain Test Series v Pakistan

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner

Pakistan squad: Azhar Ali (c), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan Snr, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah.

Warm-up match: Australia A v Pakistan, match drawn

Warm-up match: v Cricket Australia XI, November 15-16, WACA Ground

First Test: November 21-25, Gabba (Seven, Fox & Kayo)

Second Test: November 29 – December 3, Adelaide (d/n) (Seven, Fox & Kayo)