Heaping praise on James Pattinson, Australia opener Aaron Finch has said the fast-bowler is currently in the form of his life.
The 26-year-old, who had earlier revealed that he asked Australia selectors not to consider him for the India tour in order to get back to his best following a string of injuries, has been performing brilliantly in the Sheffield Shield, playing an integral role in helping Victoria reach the final of the tournament. He took 5/7 against Queensland in the second innings of Victoria’s final regular game last week and had also taken a fifer against Western Australia (WA) in the previous round.
Delighted with Pattinson’s performance, Victoria skipper Finch said:
“I don’t know if I have seen him bowl better than this at the moment,” Finch said.
I think that he is really comfortable where his action is at and where his body is at. Not being a fast bowler, I can’t imagine the mental toughness that it takes to get through injury after injury, doing all your rehab, getting back, then being back in the gym doing your rehab again. He’s just really comfortable with where his game is at.
“When he gets his tail up and the ball is shifting in the air slightly, it’s a different ball game.
“He’s someone who has obviously got pace. I think it took a couple of games for him to find his rhythm back again. I think he was, probably by his own admission, a little bit off the mark in his first couple of Shield games back.”
The right-arm fast bowler, who recently signed for county outfit Nottinghamshire, has taken 20 wickets in four Shield appearances and will be keen to replicate his performance when Victoria take on South Australia to win their third title on the trot.
“But that second-innings spell against WA up in Alice – to knock them over when they were starting to build a nice lead, was unbelievable. Then he kept that going in Brisbane. He looks like he’s bowling within himself, but still fast and with a lot of control. He’s obviously very passionate and when he gets his tail up, he can be hard to stop,” Finch concluded.
The Sheffield Shield final will be played from Sunday (March 26).