Pattinson knows what it feels like to be out of action for such a long period of time

Australia pace bowler James Pattinson has revealed that he empathises with his 19-year-old bowling partner Pat Cummins after he was ruled out for almost a year with a back injury.

Pattinson has had his own fair share of painful injuries at the ages of 16 and 18 before being ruled out for a couple more months with a stress fracture in his own back.

News.com.au quoted Pattinson as saying: “I spoke to Paddy for an hour on the phone the other day about what’s happened. I said I had been through the same thing at his age, his career’s more advanced than mine was at the same age, so he gets put in the spotlight a bit more than I did. I just said to him that if you bowl at 150km/h and you’re 19 years of age you’re bound to get some injuries at your age. If you look at Test greats like Glenn McGrath, he didn’t play Test cricket until he was 23 – Pat was doing it at 18. That’s five years and it’s a big difference. That’s a long time for your body to mature and get better. I think he understands. He’s quite a smart kid. He’ll be fine. A lot of bowlers have been through that.”

Pattinson also mentioned that having sustained injuries at a young age helped transform him into a much better bowler.