Pattinson needs more time with new action

Australia

Australia captain Steve Smith has explained why paceman James Pattinson was not named in the Test squad for Bangladesh, saying the bowler needed to spend more time in domestic cricket to get used to his new action.

Pattinson was forced to change his action after a string of back and leg injuries, and while he did return to the national side in the ODIs against England, he took no wickets and was very expensive.

So while a few fast bowlers have been rested for the Tigers Tests, Pattinson was not a replacement option, with Pat Cummins and Peter Siddle picked ahead of him for the two-Test series.

Smith said: "I think for Jimmy it's just about playing a bit more cricket first. Hopefully he can get back and play in the Matador Cup and the first couple of Shield games.

"He's got a different action at the moment and he's got to get himself comfortable with that, keep looking to get better with that and be more consistent.

"I'm sure we'll see him in the future."

The paceman was content with the situation, and explained that he was working hard on getting his pace back with the new action, and said he felt good despite a lack of instant wickets.

Pattinson explained: "When you make changes (to your action) it affects other parts of the body and with those changes I made, my hamstring went.

"So I've done a fair bit of work trying to strengthen that up as well as trying to not think about my action too much and just let it go.

"Last year I was probably still thinking about my action a bit. I'm really comfortable with that and now it's about playing games and getting some consistency.

"I'm still swinging the ball in the nets, which is a good sign. Probably being more side-on I've got to finish off a bit more and hopefully that won't affect my outswing. It hasn't yet.

"(My pace) is getting better. The more I play, the better I feel.

"I'm feeling really good hopefully now that I've tipped over the other side of 25 (years old) I can try and stay on the park and get some good luck."

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