James Pattinson pulls out of final year of Melbourne Renegades contract

James Pattinson has withdrawn from the final year of his Melbourne Renegades contract after the club and player came to a mutual agreement to part ways.

Pattinson would only have been available for part of the season as he said he needed a period of rest after state and county commitments while he also wants to spend time with his family at Christmas

Pattinson, who retired from international cricket last year, made six appearances in the 2021-22 season where he claimed just three wickets before ending his season early due to manage injuries amid the challenge of the Covid restrictions at the time.

Patto bids the Renegades farewell!

The Aussie quick won't see out the last season of his @RenegadesBBL contract, expressing a desire to spend more time with his family.

All the best @_jamespattinson! #BBL12 pic.twitter.com/2jGGNzANiX

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) June 23, 2022

"Unfortunately I could only commit to part of the season given my state and overseas cricket commitments," Pattinson said. "I'll need to take a break in December to give my body a rest and also want to spend that Christmas period with family. I'd like to thank the Renegades for my time there and wish them all the best for the season."

Pattinson is currently with Nottinghamshire and remains contracted to Victoria. He claimed 15 wickets at 31.26 in last season's Sheffield Shield campaign where Victoria finished runners-up.

"We'd like to thanks James for his efforts as a Renegade," Renegades general manager, James Rosengarten, said. "We understand the position he's in with prioritising his County and State cricketing commitments and appreciate him being upfront with us.

"With James only being available for part of the season, we feel the best option for us is to utilise this list spot on a player who can fully commit to the Renegades for all of BBL12."

The domestic contracting embargo has now been lifted for the BBL which means clubs can start signing players. It was announced yesterday that there would be a draft for overseas players for the first time. The BBL season is expected to run from mid-December, starting after the second Test against West Indies, until late January.

Renegades have finished bottom in the last three seasons following their title success in 2018-19

"Alongside our head coach David Saker and our coaching team, we have been working through our list management strategy for the past six months to turn things around on-field in BBL|12, with a view to our domestic player mix and then how to complement that through the draft," Rosengarten said.

"Over the coming months, we look forward to announcing some re-signings and the addition of some new domestic and international players. We are building a team which will play an exciting brand of cricket for our fans, but most importantly with a view to taking the Renegades back into the finals mix."