Image courtesy of: The Guardian
Pattinson does have the tendency to succumb to injuries on a regular basis
It seems as if there is a curse on Australia’s pace bowlers as every time a big series comes around, one of them sustains a serious injury, and the tradition continued during the ongoing Ashes series as 23-year-old James Pattinson was ruled out for the remainder of the historic series with a stress fracture of the lower back.
Pattinson noted that he had “hip and back soreness” after the final day of the second Test at Lord’s and was sent for a scan, which revealed early signs of a stress fracture.
Pattinson has not had much of an impact in the first two Ashes Tests, taking seven wickets at a dismal average of 43.85.
The young seamer will fly back to Australia after the third Ashes Test in Manchester.
This is just the latest installment of Pattinson’s injury woes, as he sustained a rib injury against South Africa towards the end of last year and a foot injury against India during the 2011-2012 season.
Speaking about Pattinson’s injury, Cricket Australia’s team doctor Peter Brukner said: “We had some scans done in London that have identified an early stage low back stress fracture. Unfortunately he will not take any further part in this Test series and will commence a rehabilitation program with the aim to have him back for the Australian summer.”
Cricket Australia’s team performance manager Pat Howard was “disappointed” about the bad news, but wished Pattinson all the best.
“While we are obviously disappointed for James, the selectors have five bowlers fit and ready to perform in England, providing them with many options,” he said. “It is also important to note that several players have been performing for Australia A and are available to be called up at any stage if the NSP required them. We’ve been well planned to have as many bowlers fit and available in the lead-up to this important series and while this set-back for James is disappointing, we are confident we have good fast bowling depth.”
With Pattinson out of the picture, Australia can still call on Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird and James Faulkner, while also having the ability to choose Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Chadd Sayers, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Gurinder Sandhu from the Australia A squad, who are currently touring South Africa.