Pattinson’s last Sheffield Shield match came in January 2013
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Australia pace bowler James Pattinson is set to make his Sheffield Shield comeback after more than two years.
Pattinson will make his return for Victoria when they take on Queensland at the Gabba on Saturday.
Pattinson has been dealing with numerous injuries as of late and hopes that his remodelled bowling action can help him avoid being sidelined in the future.
“It is a huge relief,” Pattinson said. “The whole process over the last six months has been about trying to get my body right and getting my action right to be back playing the longer format of the game in red-ball cricket. I am less than a week away from doing that and I am pretty excited at the moment.
“Hopefully I can use these three games and get some good performances on the board and feel good, and then I can put my name forward for selection for the West Indies. But first of all there is the four-day game starting this weekend and it is exciting to get back out there.
“Initially I was not going to play any Big Bash cricket but I got to the stage where I had to play some cricket because it had been so long since I had, and I was ready to go. I managed to play five matches, which was fantastic.
“I was a bit nervous coming into the games, whether I could hold my action and actually compete at that level knowing I had been out of the game for so long but I was lucky enough to get a few wickets and stick to my action too.”
Cricket Australia’s team performance manager Pat Howard added: “We are delighted James is ready to return to first-class action after six months of hard work in rehabilitation and also remodelling his bowling action. We want him to get back to playing and performing and, put himself in contention for Australia’s upcoming tours of the Caribbean and the United Kingdom.
“It is important to gradually increase workload, and so the plan is for James to play in three Sheffield Shield matches before the end of the season. By making that gradual return to red-ball cricket it should allow him to work his way back into the longer form of the game without overloading his body and that approach should benefit James, Cricket Victoria and the Australian team in the long term.”