Kurtis Patterson on his career revival and ambition to don the baggy green again

Kurtis Patterson made a dazzling start to Test cricket but for years his baggy green gathered dust. Now, he’s eyeing another chance at the top level.

Kurtis Patterson has turned his career around. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Kurtis Patterson tells people his lofty Test batting average is one he would happily see come down.

As he sees it, a drop would also mean a rise, another opportunity and the chance to show what he can achieve at Test level.

Patterson, 31, is in a purple patch, reviving a career that looked lost only a year ago when he was dropped as captain of NSW.

Patterson made a glittering entrance into Test cricket in 2019, hitting an unbeaten century in his second innings to skyrocket his average to 144.

He hasn’t been able to lift or lower that well-documented average since.

Patterson’s Test push crumbled last summer but dominant Sheffield Shield form this season and a recent ton against England Lions has reignited his hope of putting the baggy green back on.

Patterson said he “felt a little bit lost” when he was dropped, as he was forced to confront losing his love for the game.

“There were a couple of years there where I certainly think I did, I lost a bit of direction as much as anything with what I was trying to get out of the game,” he said.

“I felt a little bit lost … I loved the camaraderie and working with the group, but I certainly lost the desire to train as hard as you need to and the desire to compete.

“It (the love for cricket) wasn’t where I would’ve liked it to be, so it’s nice that it’s come back and the runs have come with it.”

Kurtis Patterson is back in the NSW side and back in form. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Being axed by the Blues was the lowest point of Patterson’s career, but he concedes he “needed that line in the sand to be drawn”.

He went back to play grade cricket at St George and, alongside unpaid cricketers, rediscovered why he first picked up a cricket bat.

“I think it allowed me to spend a bit of time figuring out what I wanted to get out of the game,” he said.

“That was a really important four to six weeks of thinking through things on my own.

“Once I made the decision to go back and commit to helping my junior club St George win some games and win a premiership, that was a huge six months for me.

“I owe those boys a lot of gratitude because it was really enjoyable to get back and play with guys who aren’t paid to play, play with guys who play for the love of it – something I lost for a couple of years there.

“That was a key moment and thankfully I think I have used it to my advantage to get back on track.”

Patterson thought he was yet to show how good he could be and owed it to himself to give Test cricket another crack.

He lifted his baggy green out of isolation and pinned it on display.

“I want to show myself more than anyone what I can achieve while I’ve still got some time,” he said.

“Part of that period where I got dropped and did some soul searching, that (Test cricket) was one of the ultimate questions I had to be really honest with myself about.

“You know ‘am I prepared to do the work required to hopefully one day get back to the Australian team?’ I think if the answer was no to that, things would certainly be looking different to how they are looking now.

“I made the decision that it was yes and it’s something I still aspire to.

“I got the baggy green out of the cupboard and it’s now hanging up on the wall in my bedroom. It’s there for me to see every day.

“It’s been a nice little reminder for me when the going isn’t going my way.”

Patterson burst onto the Test scene with a scintillating 114 not out. Picture. Phil Hillyard

Patterson has made no tweaks to his game, style or technique to open the scoring floodgates.

He instead attributes his run frenzy to those hard and honest conversations with himself after being dropped.

“I think ultimately the biggest change is I feel I have been able to improve my mental skills to be able to bat for long periods of time,” he said.

“When I stepped back and looked at my game, it was something I needed to get better at. My conversion rate is something that’s spoken about a lot, a lot of 50s without a lot of hundreds.

“I think if I was honest with myself, I had just let myself down with some concentration and focus-related issues, getting out between 30 and 70 frequently.

“That’s been nice to see some rewards in first-class games and get a personal best last game that was a monkey off the back because my previous best was my debut game before that.”

As for that Test average, Patterson tells people he would be among few cricketers in the world happy to see their average fall.

“It doesn’t really mean much to me, just like it wouldn’t if my average was two after two games. It’s such a low data set that I don’t think it’s really relevant” he said.

“I frequently tell people it’s one average I would happily see come down because that would mean I am back in that set-up.”

Originally published as Kurtis Patterson on his career revival and ambition to don the baggy green again