Aussies in shock over Pattinson's England call-up
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'Proud Aussie': Darren Pattinson made his debut for England against South Africa at Headingley. (AFP: Andrew Yates)
The Australian cricket community was caught by surprise on Saturday at Australia-raised paceman Darren Pattinson's bolt from obscurity to the England Test team.
The 29-year-old Nottinghamshire bowler was a surprise choice to replace his injured county colleague Ryan Sidebottom in the England side for the second Test against South Africa at Headingley on Friday.
Although born in Grimsby, on the east coast of England, Pattinson grew up in Melbourne and his Australia-born younger brother, James, has represented the Australia Under-19 team.
Cricket officials from his home state Victoria admitted surprise that Pattinson, who is contracted with Cricket Victoria, was not an Australian citizen and even eligible to play for England.
"We didn't realise he wasn't an Australian citizen and didn't have an Australian passport," Victorian general manager of cricket operations Shaun Graf said.
"He actually only had a British passport and hence when he came home from playing overseas a couple of times he needed to get a visa which is a little bit strange."
Pattinson's opportunity only evolved when Cricket Victoria received an offer to play with Nottinghamshire, Graf said.
Former Australian swing bowler Damien Fleming said he was shocked when he heard that Pattinson, a roof-tiler by trade, was making his debut for England two seasons after playing his first match for Victoria.
"It's unbelievable. I don't reckon he'll be doing any roof-tiling for a while," Fleming told The Age newspaper.
"He's got good attributes. He's a pretty strong fellow, he's nice and tall, and he gets really good bounce.
"He has a pretty uncomplicated action, so not much can go wrong, and he's a ripping bloke, so I don't think temperament would be an issue either."
Former Victorian all-rounder Brendan McArdle, who helped set Pattinson up initially with clubs in Yorkshire, was another surprised by his sudden elevation.
"It was in his mind to play county cricket, but we never thought England," McArdle said.
"He's so Australian in his ways you would never believe it. He's a competitive bugger."
If Pattinson kept his English origins quiet while he was playing in Australia, it wasn't for fear of being sledged.
"People wouldn't have a go at Darren," his former Dandenong club coach Warren Ayres said. "He's pretty big and pretty wild."
Gooch baffled
Former England captain Graham Gooch questioned the "leftfield" decision to select Pattinson on his BBC blog page and said it risked devaluing the international game as a whole.
"Today's selection of Darren Pattinson for England is one of the most leftfield decisions I've ever seen," Gooch said.
"I've got no problem with Darren but we've got to look at the bigger picture.
"I captained England 34 times and many of the players under me were born overseas.
"These were men who decided to make their life in England and bring up their kids here.
"They were passionate about playing for the three Lions, but Pattinson's father says he's a proud Aussie - and his brother plays for their Under-19 side," Gooch added.
"Can you switch from being a proud Australian to a passionate Englishman overnight?
"Representing England is more than just cricket, more than just a game or a pay packet. It's a tremendous honour, and it should be treated as such by players and the selectors.
"Is this what playing for your country has come to?"
- AFP
