Kurtis Patterson admits he questioned whether he had played his last first-class match before coming up just short of a century on return to the Sheffield Shield with NSW. The former Test batter’s comeback was followed by ominous signs from Josh Hazlewood, who bowled his first red-ball overs of the season as Queensland posted 0-36 in reply to the Blues’ 239 on day one. Patterson (91 runs from 162 balls) had begun the summer playing grade cricket for St George after form concerns cost him the NSW captaincy and pushed him to the fringes of the Blues set-up over the past 18 months.
“I probably haven’t said it publicly but I think I needed to be dropped when I was last year because frankly, I wasn’t batting well enough,” Patterson said at stumps at Cricket Central on Friday. But Australia A absences, and Steve Smith’s decision to rest before the Test summer, made room for Patterson to return for just his second Shield match in a year. More Cricket “That stuff, selection-wise, is totally out of your control,” Patterson said.
“I’d be lying if I said that thought never crossed my mind, whether I’d get another go back here. But thankfully I’ve kind of ticked all the boxes with St George and got my opportunity.” Patterson came to the crease after NSW elected to bat but stammered to 2-12 inside two overs.
Teammates fell around Patterson as the Blues struggled to 5-59 inside the first session, before the 31-year-old partnered with Jack Edwards on a rescue mis.