About James Pattinson

After an off-season where Pattinson spent a lot of time in the gym, with his lanky figure seen in his debut season replaced by a thicker, stronger torso more suited to the rigours of fast-bowling, he ventured to India as replacement for Josh Hazlewood. But again, stress fractures in his back, an injury that has plagued his career so far, returned and he was out of action for two months. That back injury meant Pattinson only played two Shield matches for the year, taking seven wickets.  His selection in the Bangladesh tour came on the back of strong form in the Ryobi One-Day Cup where he collected ten wickets in six matches.

Identified early as a rare pace-bowling talent, Pattinson captained Victoria in the national Under-18 competition and also represented Australia in the Under-19 World Cup of 2008-09. While Australian domestic cricket is renowned for fierce competition between hardened, mature players, a mark of his talent was that he managed to make his debut in 2008 when just 18.

The legacy of the aforementioned back injury was that Victorian selectors were loathed to use him in the longest form of the game in 2009-10, preferring to unleash him in limited-overs cricket. Their approach was vindicated when Pattinson's first four matches reaped a competition-leading 13 wickets. In the last of those matches, away to the formidable New South Wales, he announced himself as a national contender with 6-48 - taking the only six wickets to fall in the NSW innings.