Test rookie 'KP' a pink-ball specialist

If Australia's national selection panel was looking for a pink-ball specialist to shore up their fragile middle order ahead of Thursday's opening day-night Test against Sri Lanka, they might well have found their man in New South Wales batsman Kurtis Patterson. 

Patterson was sublime in stroking a pair of unbeaten hundreds against the same opposition last week in Hobart, making an irresistible case to be parachuted into the Test squad in Brisbane on Monday, despite the presence of seven batsmen in the group already. 

And while those highly-impressive knocks of 157 and 102 certainly boosted his numbers, his love affair with the pink ball has a deeper history. 

In fact, selectors would have to go a long way to find a player whose numbers make better reading; in 14 trips to the middle to face the pink ball, Patterson has four hundreds among 715 runs at an average of 65. 

Making his case for selection all the sweeter, one of those hundreds came during a Sheffield Shield clash two summers ago against the pink ball at the Gabba. 

"I feel at the top of my game to be honest," Patterson said today at Allan Border Field in Brisbane, having caught an early morning flight following his selection news on Sunday evening. 

"I feel like I'm hitting the ball as well as I ever have. Which makes this addition to the squad (a) really happy (one) for me. 

"You want to be picked when you feel like you're playing well, and I feel like I am at the moment.

"Obviously there's some hard work to be done this week but if I get the opportunity this week I feel like I'll be ready for it.

"I like batting (at the Gabba). I think the last pink-ball game here I had some success, and we had a good win. It's just a great venue to bat. There's pace and bounce in it, but there's also value for shots. 

"Chances are they're going to have slips in for most of the game, so there's always going to be gaps in the field."

Patterson's purple patch extends beyond his twin tons against the Sri Lankans, with the 25-year-old having hammered an unbeaten 167 for St George in Sydney Premier Cricket nine days ago, while prior to the Shield break, he broke a run of first-class fifties with a 107 not out for the Blues against Western Australia in Perth. 

In total, the tall left-hander has hit 426 runs in his past three innings without being dismissed. 

He attributes the run of form to some slight technical tweaks – namely higher hands in his stance – but moreover a simplified mentality, which has been the result of working closely with Blues assistant coach Beau Casson.

"Probably in the last couple of years I've thought about it too much when I've got in, and tried to change too many things in the middle of my innings," he said. "Whereas this year I'm just kind of letting it happen, just kind of enjoying being in the present when I'm out there and just making the most of those opportunities when I do get in. 

"I've got to give a lot of credit to Beau. We've forged a really strong relationship and he's been absolutely fantastic for me. I've just really enjoyed the way he goes about his coaching. We got along really well on a personal level, and I think he really understands batting and cricket. 

"He keeps it really simple, which is probably something I've been lacking in previous years – I've been going too far the other way."

Patterson appears to be the sudden front-runner for a middle-order position following the axings of Shaun and Mitchell Marsh, as well as Peter Handscomb, from the Test squad. 

Also vying for a place in a batting order that is very much in a state of flux are Queensland pair Joe Burns and Matt Renshaw, and young Victorian Will Pucovski. 

That trio all played in Hobart alongside Patterson, but where the New South Welshman shone, Burns (four and 22) and Renshaw (seven and 10) failed to impress, while Pucovski (23 and 33no) produced middling returns. 

Domain Test Series v Sri Lanka

Australia: Tim Paine (c/wk), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Will Pucovski, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle

Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dhananjaya de Silva, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Kusal Perera, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha

Jan 24-28: First Test, Gabba (D/N)

Feb 1-5: Second Test, Canberra