Fit-again quick James Pattinson says he was more than happy to skip the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka to focus on a build-up at first-class level for the Test summer ahead.
Pattinson has smashed through batting lineups in four Sheffield Shield matches this season, claiming 22 wickets including match figures of 6-98 this week against Western Australia at the MCG.
The 22-year-old has had his fair share of injuries, including breaking down with a foot problem in the Sydney Test in January.
He said his fellow Test paceman Pat Cummins’ latest injury – a back complaint which has ruled the 19-year-old out of action for the summer – is an indication of the dangers of playing a lot of short-form cricket.
Cummins said when playing red-ball cricket, his action was more pure.
“When I’m swinging the ball, everything’s going well,” he said.
“But when you’re bowling cross-seamers with a white ball, you kind of fall into bad habits maybe.”
Pattinson, who has taken 26 Test wickets at 18.96 since making his debut last summer, said it’s not a normal thing for a teenager to be sending down 150km/h thunderbolts and varying one’s action in short-form cricket adds to the strain on a young body.
“I tend to get a bit sorer when I do play one-day cricket because you’re trying different balls, you’re coming wide of the crease, you’re trying to bowl slower balls,” Pattinson said.
“Your action changes when you do that.
“You go out there and bowl four overs at extreme pace (in T20) and you’re trying all those things. It does have an impact on the body when it’s not used to doing that sort of stuff.
“The good thing about Shield cricket is … you just hit the right spot over and over again and your body can get into a rhythm.
“I was in the same position as him at 19. I had a couple of stress fractures.
“My goal was to be right for the first Test, get some good Shield preparation in and then go from there.
“I wasn’t too disappointed when they said I wasn’t able to go to the Twenty20 World Cup if I was picked.”
Pattinson has been named in a 12-man squad for Friday’s first Test against South Africa in Brisbane.
His rhythm is back after taking 0-89 and 2-24 in last week’s MCG clash with Tasmania then hitting top gear against Western Australia.
“When you’re in a rhythm like that, you don’t really think about speed – it just sort of happens,” Pattinson said.
