Kurtis Patterson: more young Blues talent for Australia

 
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By Bayman, 28 Nov 2011 The Crowd is a Roar Guru

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Kurtis Patterson: more young Blues talent for Australia + enlarge image

Kurtis Patterson, image via Cricket NSW

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Over the years many have suggested that when NSW hands out the Baggy Blue they also hand over a Baggy Green to save time later. David Hookes, for one, famously expressed this view.

In the case of Kurtis Patterson, though, you could actually see why people may think this way.

In his last few first grade games for St. George he has a couple of hundreds in the bag. Picked for NSW when many young batsmen are wondering if they can still make the school team he has, in the vernacular, ‘stepped up’. For one so young it is an exciting sign.

I missed his innings on Sunday but I had been at the game on the first two days. During that time I had the opportunity to speak to one of the NSW selectors about Patterson.

I asked if the young man was ready for it and was told, “He’s certainly good enough but we would have liked to have held him back a bit. Unfortunately, with injuries and the timing of the Australia ‘A’ game we had to just bite the bullet and bring him in early.”

Patterson has certainly answered my question and absolutely repaid the faith of the selectors – who must be delighted with the result. It seems only yesterday that Hughes made fifty on debut and Maddinson went even better with a first up century.

The NSW production line just keeps on rolling. If people wonder why the Blues produce so many Test players it’s because they continue to produce young talent at a greater rate than any other state. And really, they always have.

Right now the NSW team is probably a “second” XI (no Clarke, Hughes, Khawaja, Haddin, Watson, Starc, Bollinger, Warner, Maddinson, Smith et al).

On top of this there are more than a team’s worth of talent from NSW playing for other states. Perhaps this is really a NSW ‘third’ XI playing now at the SCG but still they score 6/441 (admittedly, WA is also missing several would-be regulars).

Whatever team it is, Patterson can do no more than score 157 on debut (ok, for the pedants out there, he could have got 158). The fact is though, he may well be missing for the next match given the depth in NSW cricket. This will not necessarily be a bad thing.

Clearly, however, he is a talent and will soon be pushing for a regular spot. In a couple of years time it is not impossible to envisage and entirely “Blue” top six for Australia with Hughes, Warner, Khawaja, Clarke, Maddinson and Patterson all vying for a spot – and no, I have not forgotten Katich (I just do not expect to see him back). And Watson is really a Queenslander.

As a proud Redback supporter (or NSW 2 as my selector mate might call them) I just wish SA could produce talent like this on a slightly more regular basis than Hookes, Phillips, Blewett, Lehmann and Ferguson (which covers a thirty-five year period – the Blues have done this in a three year window and I won’t even start on the pace bowlers).

I am, however, very optimistic about Australia’s chances of climbing back up much faster than England might imagine. The new Test selection panel gives me hope and that NSW production line gives me confidence. Now we just have to wait and see.

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