- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson and Jackson Bird have all but been forgotten as Australia’s experienced pace brigade have vaporised England this summer.
All four are on the comeback from serious back injuries and it appears that Pattinson and Bird – the furthest advanced in their recovery – could contend for February’s Test tour of South Africa.
While Australia’s frontline pace attack is currently set in stone, thanks to the robust form of Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson, both Pattinson and Bird will be closely monitored by the selectors.
That pair are returning from stress fractures of the back but Pattinson gave encouraging signs when he, Starc and Cummins trained with pace legend Dennis Lillee during the WACA Test, according to The Australian newspaper.
Bird made a triumphant return to competitive cricket on the weekend, claiming 4-31 for the Melbourne Stars in the opening round of the Big Bash League T20 tournament.
Pattinson is set to play for the Melbourne Renegades later in the competition.
Starc, however, is not expected to take part in the BBL, while Cummins was last week withdrawn from the Perth Scorchers squad.
Starc and Cummins could begin their re-entry to cricket in the second half of the Sheffield Shield season in February and March.
Bird and Pattinson will be hoping they are in South Africa by that point as part of Australia’s month-long tour, which involves three Tests, followed by a trio of T20 matches.
Swing merchant Bird is further along in his recovery than Pattinson and resumed bowling in the nets last month, albeit at a restricted pace.
The tall Tasmanian broke down after the fourth Ashes Test at Durham in August.
It was the end of an underwhelming tour for Bird, who struggled for penetration largely due to his inability to swerve the Dukes ball.
He was accurate but innocuous in his sole Test, snaring 2-125 on a Chester-le-Street pitch which offered the quicks reasonable assistance.
In his three warm up matches for Australia and Australia A in England, he took 9 wickets at 27 but rarely made breakthroughs with the new ball.
Bird’s methodical bowling is tailor made for South Africa, where quicks can earn generous movement through the air and off the pitch.
He may, however, have been overtaken by the likes of former Test pacemen Doug Bollinger, West Australian tearaway Nathan Coulter-Nile or South Australian swing bowler Chadd Sayers.
Bollinger and Coulter-Nile were on standby for the WACA Test in case Ryan Harris was unable to play after pulling up sore following the second Ashes Test in Adelaide.
Sayers has followed a spectacular 2012-13 Shield season with a very solid summer so far.
The 26-year-old has nabbed 22 wickets at 28 despite playing half of his matches on the ultra-flat new drop-in pitch at Adelaide Oval.
Ben Hilfenhaus, who offers a similar product to Bird, has bowled himself out of contention for the South Africa tour with a toothless Shield campaign.
Hilfenhaus has taken just five wickets at 66 in his four Shield outings.
Pattinson appears likely to battle Bird, Bollinger, Coulter-Nile and Sayers to make that Test squad.
Australia’s most exciting young paceman, Pattinson was below his best during the Ashes in England.
He clearly lacked rhythm and as a result was down on pace by about 10kmh.
He left the tour after the second Test due to his back injury.
Pattinson is so highly regarded by the Australian selectors that he is a near-certainty to go to South Africa is fully fit.
The dynamic fast bowler is capable of bowling consistently in the vicinity of 150kmh and has the capacity to rough batsmen up in a manner similar to Johnson.
He also was one of the few Australian players to perform admirably during the disastrous 4-0 series loss to India early this year.
One of the first players picked in the Test side just nine months ago, he now faces a huge challenge to unseat one of Harris, Siddle or Johnson in the near future.
It is a luxurious situation for Australia.