Patterson unsure if he’s a lock for Ashes

BANKSTOWN Oval is a long way from Lord’s but for one of Australia’s Ashes hopefuls, the humble suburban stadium could well turn out to be his field of dreams.

With still so much uncertainty about the make-up of Australia’s batting line-up for this year’s Ashes series, the next six weeks of Sheffield Shield matches have suddenly taken on added importance.

While Australia’s limitedovers players will be focusing on white-ball cricket for the next few months, there is a group of players on the fringe of Ashes selection whose fate could rest on how they perform in Australia’s domestic first-class competition.

With spots in the Ashes squad already tight even before Steve Smith and David Warner make their comebacks, no one feels safe. But all agree their fate could be decided by how they fare in Sheffield Shield.

“The one-day boys can focus on the white ball for the next six months, but it’s a good opportunity for blokes like myself to really knuckle down and score a lot of red-ball runs,” Kurtis Patterson said.

“There’s always a bit of talk leading into an Ashes series with spots up for grabs at the moment, as I guess they have been for the last two years, it’s crucial but I feel like I’ve said that for the last 18 months in terms of shield cricket for NSW, so nothing changes.”

Patterson is one of the batsmen at the head of the queue after forcing his way into the Test side for the two-match series against Sri Lanka, then scoring a hundred in his second outing.

Patterson is desperate to play in the Ashes, but even he doesn’t feel secure, so wants to push his credentials this weekend when NSW hosts Western Australia at Bankstown Oval.

The southwest suburban stadium might seem like a lowkey setting, but Patterson knows the stakes are high with Cricket Australia deciding to use the same Duke balls that will be used in England during the Ashes to see how all the players in contention cope with the extra swing.