James Pattinson retires from Test cricket as all-rounder Sean Abbott gets rich endorsement
It’s been a while coming but NSW finally get to play their opening match of the summer next week, and it will be an ideal opportunity for one player to show off his Test qualities.
Cricket
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Test star Nathan Lyon and NSW coach Phil Jacques have declared that Sean Abbott is ready to make his Test debut in the Ashes this summer.
Abbott has represented Australia at T20 and one day level but is behind the three fast bowlers — Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood — in the red-ball pecking order.
Catch all the ICC T20 World Cup action live & exclusive to Fox Cricket, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today.
Abbott was named in the Test squad for both last summer’s series against India and the scrapped tour of South Africa, and if Lyon had his way, he would finally earn his baggy green if one of the big three wasn’t injured before or during the Ashes.
“He’s probably playing the best cricket I’ve actually ever seen him play, bat and ball,” he said.
“I think Sean could stand up and perform at that level.”
Jacques went as far as to call Abbott a “genuine all-rounder” after the 29-year-old hit 154 runs in an intra-club practice match ahead of NSW’s Sheffield Shield opener.
“I think he’s really grown as a player and as a person over the last couple of years. He’s developed into a real, genuine all-rounder now,” Jacques said.
“I think if he’s picked, he won’t let anyone down, that’s for sure. I think he’s totally ready.
“I think he’d really value-add to the team if he was selected for that squad and got an opportunity.”
Lyon conceded that even though James Pattinson announced his retirement from Test cricket on Wednesday, Abbott would still have stiff competition, with Jhye Richardson, Mark Steketee and Michael Neser all looking to be in great form so far this summer.
Neser is often considered the best current Aussie fast bowler never to have played Test cricket, while Steketee, also uncapped, took a staggering 10 wickets in Queensland’s recent match against South Australia.
Richardson, meanwhile, brought up a half-century against Tasmania this week and took three wickets in his first Shield match since November 2019.
“I think there’s enough depth in Australian fast-bowling cricket that we can fill that hole, but it’s a pretty big hole that Patto has left,” Lyon said.
Abbott will have a chance to affirm his Test credentials when NSW meets Victoria at Sydney’s Drummoyne Oval next week in its first Sheffield Shield game of the season.
Lyon is looking forward to ending the longest lay-off of his professional career when he lines up for day one on Wednesday.
The 33-year-old hasn’t played a game of cricket since April but said NSW’s training regimen had helped him keep his match fitness up.
“I’m ready to get going,” he said.
“A big shout-out has to go to the NSW government for allowing us to train during the lockdown. We’ve been very fortunate.
“I’m just pumped to be playing Shield cricket next week and looking forward to getting back out there and getting the competitive juices flowing.”
FAB FOUR: THE QUICKS CATAPULTED INTO ASHES CONTENTION
James Pattinson has retired from Test cricket, leaving Australia short one of its key bowling options for the Ashes.
The 31-year-old has been in the mix with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood for a number of seasons, usually coming into the side when one is rested or injured, but was picked ahead of Starc for the first Test in the 2019 Ashes.
He is struggling with a knee injury and has lost motivation to get himself up for another campaign.
However, people close to him are hopeful that a change of fortune at Shield level may lead to a change of heart.
“Leading into pre-season I really wanted to give the Ashes a crack but in the end I haven’t had the preparation I would have liked heading into the coming season,” said Pattinson in a statement released by Cricket Australia.
“If I was to be part of the Ashes I would need to do myself and my teammates justice.
I didn’t want to be in a position of battling with my body when you need to be 100 per cent fit and ready to go at any time. That would not be fair to myself or the team.”
“It was then I felt that instead of trying to play at the very highest level, knowing I have only got three or four years of cricket left, I would focus more on Victoria, helping the young guys develop, perhaps some cricket in England and spending more time with my family.”
With Pattinson telling selectors he is unavailable, Michael Neser, Shaun Abbott and Mark Steketee shape up as other likely inclusions in the Ashes squad.
One of the country’s best quicks for the past decade, stress fractures and the emergence of the NSW trio have limited Pattinson’s time in the Australian team.
He took 20 wickets at an average of 15 in series against New Zealand and India in his first summer.
Injuries early in his career resulted in him playing just 17 Tests in the first five years of his career and he leaves the Australian side with 81 wickets at an average of 26 from 21 games. He also played in 15 ODIs and four T20Is.
Pattinson has more than 300 first-class wickets and should add to that tally.
At his best he was a tear away quick who had an intimidating presence.
Pattinson was expected to play in the second half of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in 2020-21 but injured himself while mowing the lawn at home.
A match ban for abuse led to him being left out of the first Test, which he was expected to play in 2019-20, but he returned to play against New Zealand in the MCG and SCG Tests.
Pattinson made his ODI debut in Bangladesh in 2011 and signalled his talent with a five-wicket haul on Test debut against New Zealand.
Repeat fractures of the lower back led to him seeking radical surgery in New Zealand in an attempt to extend his career.
The painful surgery was never guaranteed to be successful and involved painful rehab, but it allowed Pattinson a chance in the 2019 Ashes.
“The big thing on getting the operation was I probably could have not had the operation and maybe settled to play the shorter format of the game,” Pattinson said at the time.
“But being 27 and having a pretty good Test record and doing quite well, that’s the big thing that’s kept me pushing on and trying to get back.
“It was really difficult. I think fourth time I had a stress fracture in a same area in my back, so that’s why we decided to go for surgery.
“It was the last resort. (There is) fair bit of anxiety around when you go down that path as you know if it doesn’t go well, that’s probably your career done. But I was always optimistic it would work.”
Pattinson’s retirement comes on top of an injury scare to another key member of Australia’s attack.
Meanwhile, former national selector Mark Waugh says you would “have to think about” returning to Usman Khawaja as an opening batsman for the Ashes amid a “lack of depth” and lingering concussion concerns for young gun Will Pucovski.
Khawaja impressed with a stellar knock of 174 in the second innings of Queensland’s Sheffield Shield clash against South Australia, but hasn’t played for the Australian Test team since the 2019 Ashes in England.
Speaking on RSN Central, Waugh felt there weren’t enough options available to overlook Khawaja returning to the Test team.
“Normally, I’d say you would probably go past him, but with the lack of depth in that opening spot, you’ve got to think about him,” Waugh said. “He’s aged 34, we know he’s a class player. He made that 174 in the Shield match. What are the other options?”
More Coverage
Originally published as James Pattinson retires from Test cricket as all-rounder Sean Abbott gets rich endorsement
Convicted rapist set to play cricket in Aus
A cricketer who has been banned from playing cricket in England and Wales for 10 years will be allowed to play in Western Australia.
New World Cup challenge awaits Aussies
Australia hasn’t lost a T20 to New Zealand for more than three years, but something is happening to the Kiwis at the World Cup.