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Australia's most terrifying attack could light up the Ashes

11th March, 2017
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James Pattinson could form part of a lethal pace attack for Australia. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Expert
11th March, 2017
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Australia’s fast bowling stocks are suddenly looking a lot deeper ahead of the Ashes, thanks to the successful returns from injury of pace stars James Pattinson, Pat Cummins and Jason Behrendorff.

Cummins yesterday completed a scorching comeback in his first Shield game in six years, grabbing match figures of 8-104 to go with a crucial knock of 42.

Meanwhile, Behrendorff has been even more impressive since he returned from a fractured leg, snaring 17 wickets in two games (at the time of writing) to give him incredible season figures of 31 wickets at 16.

Then there’s former Test firebrand Pattinson, who has bowled with serious heat since rejoining Shield ranks last month. The 26-year-old has taken ten wickets at 25 for Victoria, with his sizzling strike rate of 38 underlining the fact he remains the most natural of strike bowlers.

When Australia last toured India, four years ago, Pattinson was the most exciting young fast bowler in the world, ripping into Test line-ups at speeds up to 153kmh. He’s missed so much cricket in the meantime it’s easy to forget he owns a better Test record than Mitchell Starc, with 70 wickets at 26.

During the time Pattinson has been unable to bowl he has been honing his already impressive batting. His first step in returning to competitive cricket was playing in the Victorian grade competition, where he crashed 248 runs at an average of 62 for Dandenong in two-day cricket, including one century.

Pattinson hit an even more incredible ton for Dandenong in the T20 competition, hammering 137 from 64 balls against Ringwood.

That fine form has flowed over into the Shield, where in five knocks Pattinson’s made scores of 57, 39 and 29 amid a haul of 127 runs at 25. Of course, we witnessed Pattinson’s generous batting gifts during his stints for Australia as he averaged 27 with the blade in Tests.

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Cummins, too, appears to have flourished with the willow during his extended absences from the bowling crease. He was a surprise batting star in the recent Big Bash League, smacking 134 runs at 33 in six matches. Then, in Cummins’ last two ODI knocks for Australia, he made 36 and 27 in the matches against New Zealand last month.

The 23-year-old has only batted 13 times in first-class cricket, so it’s a small sample size, but in that time he’s averaged 31 with the bat and has a highest score of 82*.

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Why, you might ask, am I devoting so many words to the batting of Pattinson and Cummins? It’s because their ability with the blade could pave the way for a seriously attacking strategy for Australia in the upcoming Ashes.

With Test bowlers Starc and Steve O’Keefe averaging 24 and 28 with the bat respectively in first-class cricket, Australia would have the option of fielding four specialist bowlers who are also very handy with the bat. Add in Josh Hazlewood at 11 and you have one of the most intimidating Test attacks Australia have ever fielded.

The catch would be that the wicketkeeper, whoever that is, would need to move up to six, with one of Pattinson or Starc batting at seven. A combination of say, Peter Nevill and Starc at six and seven, would be no weaker than the pairing of Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Wade that Australia have been using.

Of course, this is all theoretical and the first task for the injury-prone pair of Pattinson and Cummins is to stay fit until next summer. The signs are good so far though, particularly in regards to Cummins, who has managed this summer to remain healthy through 25 limited-overs matches and now one first-class match, in which he sent down a hefty 36 overs.

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Imagine the spectacle of Starc, Hazlewood, Pattinson and Cummins tearing into the English batsman on a rock-hard Gabba pitch in the first Ashes Test this November. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of daydreaming.

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