Feature

The other KP makes his mark

He was the youngest man ever to score a Sheffield Shield century, but Kurtis Patterson took a few years to prove he was no one-hit wonder

Brydon Coverdale
Brydon Coverdale
29-Jul-2016
Kurtis Patterson now has four first-class centuries to his name  •  Getty Images

Kurtis Patterson now has four first-class centuries to his name  •  Getty Images

November, 2011. An 18-year-old from New South Wales makes a stunning debut and is Man of the Match, but doesn't play another first-class game for two years. No, this story is not about Pat Cummins, although the description fits. This is about Kurtis Patterson. A week after Cummins bagged six-for in the baggy green in Johannesburg, Patterson plundered 157 in the baggy blue at the SCG.
Neither man was seen again in first-class cricket until 2013 - Cummins due to the gamut of injuries that befall young fast men, and Patterson due at first to being squeezed out of the New South Wales XI, and then suffering injuries of his own. But now Patterson - nicknamed "KP", of course - has made the progress that always seemed likely, and is about to make his debut for Australia A.
His selection for this winter's campaign, which begins with a four-day game against South Africa A in Brisbane this weekend, came after a summer in which Patterson scored 737 Sheffield Shield runs at 52.64, putting him sixth on the competition tally. It was a year of significant gains for Patterson, now 23, who enjoyed the responsibility of batting at No.3 for New South Wales.
There were centuries against Western Australia in Perth and against Tasmania in Hobart, and there were very few games in which Patterson did not make a contribution. Importantly, he has now established himself in the New South Wales side, something that seemed inevitable back in 2011 when he became the youngest batsman to score a hundred in Sheffield Shield history.
"Looking back at that hundred, I think there were two very big lbw shouts in my first 10 balls which, on another day, could very well have been given out, and my career is probably a totally different story," Patterson told ESPNcricinfo. "I've always put that in perspective and known that there was an element of luck involved in that.
"I was left out of the following game because we had a couple of guys coming back from Aussie duties. Then unfortunately over that Christmas break I was playing Under-19s for New South Wales and ended up tearing a quad. One thing led to another and that year I kept re-injuring myself. It was quite a frustrating time after that. But there were lessons learnt for sure, particularly around my body and first-class cricket.
"The following season was my first contracted season and that was a big learning curve, going from being essentially just a club cricketer to being a professional cricketer. It's a very different thing training five days a week as opposed to one or two. It was a big learning curve."
The difficulty in making that transition perhaps contributed to Patterson sitting out of the New South Wales XI until November 2013, when he finally reappeared against England in a tour game, and then in a handful of Shield matches. It had been a long couple of years but Patterson was back - and still only 20 years old.
"I didn't want to be known as a one-hit player or anything like that," Patterson said. "But at the back of my mind I always had confidence in my own ability and I felt, as a couple of seasons went past, that I was improving and it was just about having that same mentality as I did before my debut, making sure that if an opportunity came up I was ready for it."
Patterson believes his game has improved since that debut hundred, particularly his ability to bat patiently and know where his off stump is. He has also gained perspective off the field, and is studying a business degree. Playing alongside his childhood idol Michael Hussey at the Sydney Thunder in the past couple of summers has certainly helped.
"It was a great thing for me, having him at the Thunder the last two seasons," Patterson said. "It's just his general outlook on the game, and also the bigger picture than the game. His success didn't interrupt anything happening outside for him, and I thought that was great. For such a good player to be such a good guy, such a caring guy who was happy to help out youngsters - that was one great trait I saw in him.
"One lesson I did learn in my first year as a professional cricketer is that whilst it's exciting and we do live a great life and have a great living, it's also important for me to have a focus outside of cricket. It can be quite a tough game when you're not playing well, that's for sure."

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @brydoncoverdale