'X-factor' Pattinson poised for Aus A return

Australia A captain Travis Head is not sure he will be able to control pace tyro James Pattinson but can't wait to unleash the Victorian against Gloucestershire.

Pattinson joined the Australia A camp midway through the one-day leg of the multi-format campaign having completed a stint with county club Nottinghamshire.

The right-armer is yet to play a game with the 'A' side but that looks set to change in Bristol on Sunday when Australia A face Gloucestershire in the first of two one-dayers, with the second encounter on Tuesday.

Head has marshalled his troops in the field with aplomb during the two completed matches on tour but now gets to command a fully fit Pattinson, if that's possible.

"I don't know if you can control him," Head told cricket.com.au in Bristol.

"He's fantastic. To have the opportunity to play with him and have him on my side is nice.

"He's someone who is an x-factor. We've got a lot of x-factors in this team and he adds another one.

"The way he's trained, what we've seen in the last few days he's always at full tilt.

"It's what you want as a captain; you want guys that are going to perform, win games and be x-factors and he's 100 per cent one of them guys."

If facing Pattinson was enough of a challenge for Gloucestershire's batsmen, they might have to encounter the Victorian and spearhead Josh Hazlewood in both matches.

Hazlewood was set to miss Sunday's fourth one-dayer of the tour but after Tuesday's match in Kidderminster was abandoned due to wet weather, the right-armer could possibly play the remaining two matches of the 50-over component.

A call on Hazlewood's participation for Sunday's clash will likely be made at training on Friday, and Head is looking forward to the luxury of having Pattinson, Hazlewood and the rest of the Australia A pace attack at his disposal.

"We've got such a strong team it's making my job very easy to have the quality that we've got," he said.

"You can throw the ball to any one of the guys and they're performing at the minute and they've done a fantastic job in the first two games.

"To get the calibre of them two (Pattinson and Hazlewood) – they will play one game together I'm sure – but to get them together in the same game is going to be pretty exciting to watch.

"Hopefully they can get on fire and put on a show."

What will also likely be discussed at Friday's practice is the composition of the batting order, which has yet to be tested on tour.

Matt Wade's brutal form, scoring 117 and 155 in very quick time against Northamptonshire and Derbyshire, respectively, has absorbed most of the available runs in the two pursuits and left splinters in the backsides of the middle to lower order.

In fact, No.6 Kurtis Patterson has faced just four balls while boom rookie Will Pucovski is yet to take guard.

With national selector Trevor Hohns on deck having arrived in Bristol ahead of the four-day matches and the Ashes, the make-up of the batting order is set to be determined by coach Graeme Hick and Hohns.

But Head doesn't envisage Wade dropping down the list.

"I think that one's up to 'Hicky' and what obviously Trevor (Hohns) and 'JL' (Australia men's head coach Justin Langer) want," said Head, who has tallied scored of 29 and 68 on tour batting at No.3.

"It's up to 'Hicky' and them guys to decide if we swap it up because some guys haven't had a crack so far.

"I think the guys who haven't had a crack are still around for the four-dayers so they'll get an opportunity there.

"It's that balancing act of giving guys the opportunity and but also making sure that guys who are in form and are pushing have got the opportunity to continue to press their (Ashes) claims.

"(Wade) is in unbelievable form, someone I'd love to see keep going and keep making the most of it.

"As a batter I'd like to stay in (the top order) and play the strongest batting line-up.

"The guys who are in form want to keep doing it and keep playing well so I'm sure 'Wadey' will stay at the top."

Australia A tour of the UK

Get live scores and all the latest news from Australia A's tour of the UK on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app

Australia A one-day squad: Travis Head (c), Matthew Wade, Will Pucovski, Peter Handscomb, Mitch Marsh (vc), D'Arcy Short, Kurtis Patterson, Ashton Agar, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood (vc), Sean Abbott, Andrew Tye

Australia A four-day squad: Tim Paine (c), Marcus Harris, Kurtis Patterson, Will Pucovski, Travis Head (vc), Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Mitch Marsh, Michael Neser, Jon Holland, James Pattinson, Jackson Bird, Josh Hazlewood (vc), Chris Tremain

One-day fixtures:

June 20: Australia A beat Northamptonshire by six wickets

June 23: Australia A beat Derbyshire by seven wickets

June 25: Australia A v Worcestershire, match abandoned

June 30: Australia A v Gloucestershire, Bristol

July 2: Australia A v Gloucestershire, Bristol

Four-day fixtures:

July 7-10: Australia A v Sussex, Arundel

July 13-16: Australia A v England Lions, Canterbury

July 23-26: Australia v Australia A, Hampshire