Rats to Runs: Brothers recruit Patrick Jamieson’s wild comeback stuns defending champs

Playing in whites purchased 20 minutes before the season began and using a bat ordered via WhatsApp the week before, a Brothers recruit dismantled Wests in his first game in four years.

Patrick Jamieson on the way to 54. Picture: Evan Morgan

Playing in whites purchased 20 minutes before the season began, and using a bat ordered via WhatsApp the week before, Patrick Jamieson dismantled Townsville’s best bowling attack for a half-century in his first competitive cricket game in four years.

The Brothers recruit shapes as a game-changing addition to his rebuilding club after an impressive North Queensland debut where almost everything seemed to conspire against his return to the middle.

The 30-year-old retired from cricket four years ago when he relocated from Melbourne to Townsville on an army posting.

His discharge earlier this year created an opportunity to return to the game, with some minor hitches.

Brothers Patrick Jamieson on the way to 54. Picture: Evan Morgan

“It’s a funny story,” Jamieson said. “I got my cricket bag sent up when I moved in 2020 and I had it sitting in the garage the whole time.

“The first time I went to training I went to open the bag and all my stuff was chewed through by rats. I had to order some new stuff not long ago.

Patrick Jamieson on the way to 54. Picture: Evan Morgan

“The bat I was using on the weekend I hadn’t even knocked in yet. I got it from overseas through an Indian fella I know, all done through a WhatsApp page. It arrived about a week before so it was just in time.

“It was a bit like our clothes, which only arrived on the morning of the game as well. I had to duck out to the shops 20 minutes before the game to buy a set of whites.”

Hardly the ideal preparation to make a good first impression on his new teammates, made even tougher because Jamieson had only batted twice in net sessions before the opening round.

Instead he wound back the clock to his prime as an aggressive middle order bat in Melbourne’s semi-professional third tier of club cricket.

Jamieson debuted in the Cricket Southern Bayside Championship division as a 15-year-old and served primarily a bowling all-rounder over 11 seasons, batting left-handed and bowling seam and offspin both with his right.

Injuries to his shoulder incurred during his military service saw him debut as a pure batter for Brothers.

Despite the disrupted preparations his promotion to No.4 was nearly flawless, belting out 54 runs in 52 balls to topscore in a win over defending champions Wests.

“I find it pretty similar to the grades I was playing back down in Melbourne,” he said.

“The bowling is pretty similar, they don’t give you many loose balls. I found it pretty good to be honest.

“With the boys losing a fair bit of talent this year Cooper (Guest, captain) and Bobby (Haylett, coach) asked me to fill in at No.4 and I was happy to go there.”

Jamieson said he planned to gradually pick up his medium pace bowling over the coming weeks.

This weekend he will face off with the Wanderers club he almost joined before a chance encounter with a stranger convinced him to take his talents to Brothers instead.

“I was about to go to Wanderers because it was closer to home but the week before training started I ran into someone by chance who invited me to come down,” he said.

“It’s a great group and a good bunch of fellas who’ve been really welcoming. I’m really enjoying my time here so far.

“Cooper’s gone really well there as captain. All the boys look up to him and he’s got them believing that they can win and I think that’s the main thing with a young team.

“Having that mindset of making the boys believe they can win will go a long way throughout the year.”

Originally published as Rats to Runs: Brothers recruit Patrick Jamieson’s wild comeback stuns defending champs