Nottinghamshire’s James Pattinson has been rewarded for his early season form with an Australia call-up for the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
The 26-year-old is averaging 13 with the ball and 148 with the bat having starred in back-to-back victories at the start of the new Specsavers County Championship season.
The Victorian’s form has captured the attention of his country’s selectors, with the fast bowler now set to join up with Australia following the Royal London One-Day Cup match against Northamptonshire on Tuesday 16 May.
“It's fantastic news for Jimmy to be selected for Australia,” said Nottinghamshire Head Coach Peter Moores.
“We will miss him, of course, as he has quickly become part of the team and his performances to date have been outstanding.
“We still have him around for the next month and hopefully this is the start of a relationship that will see Jimmy coming back and representing the Club in future.
“To force his way back into contention so quickly after injury is testament to the way James is playing,” added Moores.
“We’ve certainly seen the benefits of that in the last two games – and will continue to do so with some important cricket to be played in the next few weeks.
“In the meantime, we’re already identifying targets and Mick (Newell) is working behind the scenes to secure a replacement.”
Pattinson has 36 caps for Australia to date, including 19 in the white ball arena.
His recent form for Nottinghamshire comes on the back of a sterling end to the Sheffield Shield season with Victoria, including a spell of five wickets for seven runs against Queensland.
His brother, Darren, was a County Championship winner with Nottinghamshire in 2010.
“It’s always a great honour to be selected by Australia, and tournament cricket is particularly exciting,” added Pattinson.
“It means I’ll miss some big Notts games, but there’s plenty of tough cricket between now and then. Hopefully we can get a few more wins and be top of both tables.
“I’ve put my chances of selection to the back of my mind and concentrated on playing well for Nottinghamshire.
“It’s gone really well for me and the team so far, so that’s really pleasing and it’s a proud honour representing such a fantastic club.”
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