Darren Pattinson
Encyclopedia
Darren John Pattinson is an English cricketer who currently plays for Victoria
and Nottinghamshire
.
Pattinson received considerable press coverage when he was surprisingly selected for the England cricket team in July 2008 for the 2nd Test against South Africa at Headingley
. Former England captain Graham Gooch
described his selection as "one of the most leftfield decisions I've ever seen".
in Victorian Premier Cricket
. During the 2006–07 season, a spate of injuries to a number of bowlers resulted in Pattinson's selection for the Victorian
team. In January 2007, he made his first-class debut against South Australia
at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
, capturing four wickets for 87 runs in the first innings. His subsequent performances during the summer earned him a contract with Victoria for 2007–08; however, he played only two first-class matches for the season. Employed as a roof-tiler, he sought to further his career as a professional cricketer by signing a two-year contract to play with Nottinghamshire in the English County Championship
, commencing in 2008. Making his debut for the county against Kent
on 16 April, he took five for 22 in the first innings. He followed up with a haul of 6 for 30 against Lancashire
at Trent Bridge
.
. A fortnight later, he was called up as cover for James Anderson
for England's second Test against South Africa at Headingley
. The next day, Ryan Sidebottom
was ruled out of the team by a back injury, so Pattinson was selected to make his Test debut.
Pattinson's selection was the result of excellent form for Nottinghamshire (29 wickets at an average of just over 20 runs each) in the early part of the 2008 season. It marked an incredible rise for the player: prior to the Test, he had played in just 11 first-class matches. According to Christopher Martin Jenkins, Pattinson's debut call-up was "...the biggest rabbit-out-of-the-hat for 99 years", in reference to Douglas Carr
. Former England captain, Ian Botham
was more forthright, describing it as:
said,
Following England's defeat, captain Michael Vaughan
appeared to criticise the selection, saying:
Vaughan later met the selectors to clarify his comment and 'clear the air'.
, although TV footage put the soundness of the LBW decision in doubt. He took his second wicket when he had Ashwell Prince
caught behind for 149 to finish with figures of two for 95 from 30 overs as South Africa racked up 522 all out. He put down a difficult caught and bowled chance offered by Mark Boucher
and also dropped Dale Steyn
late in the innings but this was relatively inexpensive as Steyn was batting with last man Makhaya Ntini
at the time, who was dismissed shortly afterwards.
Batting late on in England's second innings, he scored 13 runs in a last wicket partnership of 61 with Stuart Broad
which ensured South Africa had to bat again, before the winning run was scored off his own bowling as South Africa secured a ten-wicket win.
, was preferred. However, injuries to fast bowlers including James led to Darren being picked for the team on most occasions in the later half of the season.
He returned to England for the 2010 season to play county cricket with Nottinghamshire. That season, Nottinghamshire won the County Champtionship with Pattinson contributing 31 wickets in the competition. His tally of 17 wickets in the Friends Provident t20 meant that he was the club's leading wicket-taker in the T20 format for 2010.
Pattinson began the 2010-11 Australian season by taking career-best figures of 8/35 against Western Australia.
in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia. He is married to wife Elissa, and together they have two daughters, Sophie and Olivia.
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
and Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
.
Pattinson received considerable press coverage when he was surprisingly selected for the England cricket team in July 2008 for the 2nd Test against South Africa at Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
. Former England captain Graham Gooch
Graham Gooch
Graham Alan Gooch OBE DL is a former cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time with 67,057 runs...
described his selection as "one of the most leftfield decisions I've ever seen".
Playing career
Pattinson, born in England, grew up in Australia and played for Dandenong Cricket ClubDandenong Cricket Club
The Dandenong Cricket Club is an Australian cricket club based in Dandenong, Victoria, an outer-city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. They play in Victorian Premier Cricket, the highest competition in the state.-History:...
in Victorian Premier Cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket is the elite club cricket competition in the state of Victoria, administered by Cricket Victoria. Each club fields four teams of adult players and usually play on weekends and public holidays. Matches are played on turf wickets under limited-time rules, with most results...
. During the 2006–07 season, a spate of injuries to a number of bowlers resulted in Pattinson's selection for the Victorian
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
team. In January 2007, he made his first-class debut against South Australia
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
, capturing four wickets for 87 runs in the first innings. His subsequent performances during the summer earned him a contract with Victoria for 2007–08; however, he played only two first-class matches for the season. Employed as a roof-tiler, he sought to further his career as a professional cricketer by signing a two-year contract to play with Nottinghamshire in the English County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
, commencing in 2008. Making his debut for the county against Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
on 16 April, he took five for 22 in the first innings. He followed up with a haul of 6 for 30 against Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
.
Controversial selection for England
On 3 July, Pattinson made his first appearance in an international squad when named in England's 30-man squad for the ICC Champions TrophyICC Champions Trophy
The ICC Champions Trophy is a One Day International cricket tournament, second in importance only to the Cricket World Cup. It was inaugurated as the ICC Knock Out tournament in 1998 and has been played every two years since, changing its name to the Champions Trophy in 2002...
. A fortnight later, he was called up as cover for James Anderson
James Anderson (cricketer)
James Michael "Jimmy" Anderson is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club and since bursting onto the scene in 2002/03, before his first full season of county cricket, Anderson has represented England in over 50 Test matches and over 100 One Day...
for England's second Test against South Africa at Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
. The next day, Ryan Sidebottom
Ryan Sidebottom
Ryan Jay Sidebottom is an English cricketer who plays domestic cricket for Yorkshire. He is a primarily a left-arm fast-medium bowler. Sidebottom played his first Test match in 2001 against Pakistan, but failed to take a wicket and was dropped for six years...
was ruled out of the team by a back injury, so Pattinson was selected to make his Test debut.
Pattinson's selection was the result of excellent form for Nottinghamshire (29 wickets at an average of just over 20 runs each) in the early part of the 2008 season. It marked an incredible rise for the player: prior to the Test, he had played in just 11 first-class matches. According to Christopher Martin Jenkins, Pattinson's debut call-up was "...the biggest rabbit-out-of-the-hat for 99 years", in reference to Douglas Carr
Douglas Carr
Douglas Ward Carr was an English amateur cricketer.Carr went to Brasenose College at Oxford University and while there played both football and cricket...
. Former England captain, Ian Botham
Ian Botham
Sir Ian Terence Botham OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. He was a genuine all-rounder with 14 centuries and 383 wickets in Test cricket, and remains well-known by his nickname "Beefy"...
was more forthright, describing it as:
Another former captain, Geoffrey Boycott
The most illogical, pathetic and diabolical piece of selecting I've seen. The selectors have embarrassed English cricket. I want to hear a proper explanation for this, as do England fans around the country.
Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott OBE is a former Yorkshire and England cricketer. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's most successful opening batsmen...
said,
This was one of the first big decisions taken by England's new selection panel, and they got it badly wrong. They need to admit their mistake and realise that wild hunches are no way to build an international cricket team.
Following England's defeat, captain Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan OBE is a retired cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England. A classically elegant right-handed batsman and occasional off-spinner, Vaughan was ranked one of the best batsmen in the world following the 2002/3 Ashes, in which he scored 633 runs, including three centuries...
appeared to criticise the selection, saying:
It does look a confused selection, but the selection of one person does not lose you a Test.
Vaughan later met the selectors to clarify his comment and 'clear the air'.
Test debut
On debut against South Africa at Headingley, Pattinson came out to bat at number 11, scoring 8 runs as England folded for 203. He then opened the bowling with James Anderson on the first day of the Second Test. On the second day of that Test he picked up the wicket of Hashim AmlaHashim Amla
Hashim Mahomed Amla is a South African cricketer. A right-handed upper order batsman and occasional medium-pace bowler, Amla bats at number 3 for South Africa in Test matches and has opened in limited overs contests. He is currently ranked as the No...
, although TV footage put the soundness of the LBW decision in doubt. He took his second wicket when he had Ashwell Prince
Ashwell Prince
Ashwell Gavin Prince is a cricketer who plays Test and One Day International cricket for South Africa. A left-handed middle order batsman, he has a high-batted stance and is strong through the offside. He is noted for his gritty style of batting and also for being an athletic fielder in the covers...
caught behind for 149 to finish with figures of two for 95 from 30 overs as South Africa racked up 522 all out. He put down a difficult caught and bowled chance offered by Mark Boucher
Mark Boucher
Mark Verdon Boucher is a South African cricketer, who holds the record for the most Test dismissals by a wicket-keeper. He was educated at Selborne College and has represented Border, Africa XI, ICC World XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders of the Indian Premier League, and...
and also dropped Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn
Dale Willem Steyn is a South African cricketer who plays in Test and One Day International cricket for South Africa. He is currently the number one ranked Test bowler in the world and achieved the 900+ points benchmark on 13th Nov 2011. Steyn plays domestic cricket in South Africa for Cape Cobras...
late in the innings but this was relatively inexpensive as Steyn was batting with last man Makhaya Ntini
Makhaya Ntini
Makhaya Ntini is a former South African cricketer who was the first ethnically black player to play for the South African team. A fast bowler, he tends to bowl from wide of the crease with brisk, although not express, pace...
at the time, who was dismissed shortly afterwards.
Batting late on in England's second innings, he scored 13 runs in a last wicket partnership of 61 with Stuart Broad
Stuart Broad
Stuart Christopher John Broad is a cricketer who plays Test and One Day International cricket for England and is currently the captain of their Twenty20 team...
which ensured South Africa had to bat again, before the winning run was scored off his own bowling as South Africa secured a ten-wicket win.
Since his Test debut
Pattinson returned to play for Victoria in the 09-10 season, but despite playing for England, was not one of the better fast bowlers for Victoria and was usually overlooked for selection. His younger brother, JamesJames Pattinson
James Lee Pattinson is an Australian cricketer who currently plays for Victoria.- Playing career :Pattinson played for Dandenong Cricket Club in Victorian Premier Cricket and also played for Australia in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia.On Wednesday 23 December 2009, James broke the record...
, was preferred. However, injuries to fast bowlers including James led to Darren being picked for the team on most occasions in the later half of the season.
He returned to England for the 2010 season to play county cricket with Nottinghamshire. That season, Nottinghamshire won the County Champtionship with Pattinson contributing 31 wickets in the competition. His tally of 17 wickets in the Friends Provident t20 meant that he was the club's leading wicket-taker in the T20 format for 2010.
Pattinson began the 2010-11 Australian season by taking career-best figures of 8/35 against Western Australia.
Personal life
Pattinson's younger brother James played for AustraliaAustralian U-19 cricket team
The Australian Under-19 cricket team have been playing official Under-19 test matches since 1978. Former captains include Stuart Law, Damien Martyn, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz and Cameron White who have all gone on to play international cricket for Australia....
in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia. He is married to wife Elissa, and together they have two daughters, Sophie and Olivia.