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James Pattinson
needs no extra incentive to strive to win an Ashes series for
Australia. But he has one anyway: when the fatigue builds in, and the
scoreboard takes on a daunting look, he will vow to avenge the treatment
of his brother in one of the great England selectorial botches of all time.
It was not just that England's selection of Darren Pattinson for the Headingley Test
against South Africa in 2008 was bizarre, it was the reaction that
followed that made it one of the more unsavoury affairs of recent
English vintage.
England's captain, Michael Vaughan, was privately resentful that an
Australian with a dual passport, and an Australian, more to the point,
who he had never seen bowl, a former roof tiler who had not made his
first-class debut until he was 26, was thrust upon him on the back of 29
wickets at 20 runs apiece for Nottinghamshire.
As South Africa made 522, and an outcry followed in the media, there was
no doubt who was cast in the role of scapegoat. Pattinson was used then
abused. His return of 2 for 95 bore comparison with the rest but he
would have been better sticking to his original intention and taking the
kids to Alton Towers. His England Test career, a career of convenience
on all sides, disappeared in a trice.
James is now in England with Australia, 40 wickets in ten Tests to his
name, at an imposing average of 23, his pedigree beyond debate, his
selection for the first Investec Test at Trent Bridge assured. His
career has seen irresistible bursts of brilliance mixed with frustrating
absences because of injury. But as England prepare to face him for the
first time, they will be wary of his natural talent: his vigorous run,
heaps of aggression, and ability to bowl outswing around 145kph.
While he plays his cricket aggressively, he is engaging off the field, a
world away from the programmed responses so common among the current
crop of international cricketers. He relates the family story with
refreshing honesty. It is a story that the Pattinson family has never
quite laid to rest. This is the series where they yearn to put their
grievances to rights.
"Darren didn't know about his selection until eight o'clock the night
before," James said. "He drove to Leeds, didn't meet anyone until
breakfast, and the next thing you know, he was in. I dreamt of playing
for Australia at a young age but I don't think he dreamt of playing for
England at a young age. It was different.
"Darren was thrown in at the deep end and was getting all the media
thrown at him, saying it was a disgrace. It wasn't his fault he was
picked. He was there, he was performing, he was an in-form cricketer at
the time and he had an English passport, which always helps."
| "It wasn't Darren's fault that he played and was made the scapegoat. It would have been a different story if England had won, of course" | |||
Back home in Dandenong, a suburb southeast of Melbourne en route to the
Dandenong Ranges, the Pattinson family seethed. They were proud of their
English background: James' mum, Sue, was from Wombwell in Yorkshire,
Dickie Bird country ("I think he's the only umpire she knows," laughed
James), his dad, John, hailed from Grimsby, the Lincolnshire fishing
port, where famously the Sri Lankans once got food poisoning munching
fish and chips.
During that week, the Pattinson pride took a battering. "It was quite a
big thing, not only for him but for me, and I know it shook dad up a
bit," James said. "My dad is quite a hard-nosed type of bloke. He read
something from Graham Gooch and felt like ringing him up and giving him
his two bob's worth. I owe a lot of credit to my dad for the way we've
been brought up. He's an aggressive type of bloke and I've got a lot of
that attitude as well."
Gooch, now England's batting coach, described the older Pattinson's
selection as "one of the most left-field decisions I've ever seen", and
declared "the international game is in danger of being devalued if we
have any more selections like this". He went on: "Pattinson's father
says he's a proud Aussie, and his brother plays for their Under-19 side.
Can you switch from being a proud Aussie to a passionate Englishman
overnight?"
"At that stage Dad still supported English cricket a lot," James said.
"He's always been that hard-nosed guy that stuck by where he's come
from. After that he didn't like the way that Darren was treated over
here. It wasn't Darren's fault that he played and was made the
scapegoat. It would have been a different story if England had won, of
course. Ever since then he has always supported me playing for
Australia.
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"Growing up I always had a soft spot for England in soccer. But
definitely they're my No. 1 enemy now. I think it's all about picking
your times and there's no better time than an Ashes series to show that
aggression. In the good teams, ten years ago, they backed themselves and
played naturally. The true Australian way comes out. At 23, it's a good
age to take on the world."
In the sort of entanglement that gives the Ashes series a special
piquancy, England even made a token attempt to entice James into
shifting allegiance. It was driven ahead by David Saker, England's Australian bowling coach and James' first coach at Victoria.
"I have got a dual passport, too," James said. "When David Saker moved
over to be the coach over here I hadn't played for Australia. I was
picked in two T20s to play just after the Ashes but I was 12th man in
both of them.
"I was in the dressing room at the MCG when I got a call from Sakes. I
don't know if he was being serious. It was 'Come over and play, Darren's
playing over here for Nottinghamshire.' I just thought he was mucking
around so I laughed it off.
"It was quite funny. I have a good relationship with Sakes. He was my
first bowling coach when he was at Victoria. He has the same mentality
that Darren Lehmann brings to us as well. He is a great man with great
knowledge. They teach you how to play cricket as well; they make you
learn the game."
Darren Pattinson never had that luxury. His emergence came late. "He
always had that ability, but never really went forward at a young age,"
James said. "That's one thing he taught me: that when you get your
chances, to make the most of it - that's one thing he probably regretted
a little bit."
Darren is now training greyhounds and has started his own kennels a
45-minute drive out of Melbourne. "It's always been a passion of his,"
James said. "He has gone from roof tiling to playing for England to now
training greyhounds."
There is no doubt, though, who in the Pattinson family now yearns to prove himself top dog.
David Hopps is the UK editor of ESPNcricinfo
Feeds: David Hopps
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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