James Pattinson ruled out of Sydney Test
Australian fast bowler James Pattinson has been ruled out of contention to play the Sydney Test against India because of an injury. The Victorian reportedly hurt his ribs due to a fall at his residence while on approved leave after the Boxing Day Test.
James Pattinson, who did not play the first two Tests, is widely considered as the first back-up option for Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in the Australian pace department.
Cricket Australia has not named a replacement for the injured pacer. Michael Neser and Sean Abbott, who himself has just returned from a calf injury, are the other two reserve pacers in the Aussie Test squad. Both of them are yet to make their Test debuts.
Leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson is the other specialist bowler in the Australian squad. The Australians are, however, expected to go in with an unchanged bowling lineup for the third Test unless there are any injuries to Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood or Nathan Lyon.
James Pattinson has been bogged down by a spate of injuries throughout his career. He will be assessed after the Sydney Test to confirm his availability for the final encounter of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Brisbane.
James Pattinson's Test career to date
James Pattinson has snared 81 wickets in the 21 Test matches he has played for Australia thus far, doing so at a decent average of 26.33. This includes four 5-wicket hauls with the best figures of 5/27, which he has achieved twice, firstly in his debut Test against New Zealand at the Gabba and subsequently against West Indies at Hobart.
James Pattinson last played for Australia in the New Year's Test at Sydney in January 2000 but went wicketless in both the innings.
The right-arm pacer has played 5 Tests against India and bagged 20 wickets at an average of 25.35. His best returns against India was a spell of 5/96 at Chennai in February 2013.
James Pattinson was also a part of the Australia A team that played the first warm-up match against the visiting Indian team before the ongoing Test series. He accounted for three wickets in the first innings of that match although he went wicketless in the second essay.
James Pattinson's latest claim to fame was being part of the Mumbai Indians team that won a record-extending fifth IPL title last year. The 30-year old picked up 11 wickets in the ten matches he played in the tournament.