Kurtis Patterson’s resurgence as a first-class cricketer continued on Friday as he notched up his third consecutive half-century for New South Wales, helping the Blues extend their dominance over South Australia in their Sheffield Shield clash.
Patterson, who was dropped from NSW’s Shield side for most of last summer and feared his career was over, has seized the opportunity presented by Australia A duties depleting the Blues’ batting lineup. His 71 on day two at Karen Rolton Oval followed scores of 91 and 66 earlier this month.
With NSW already in a strong position, Patterson’s innings helped them post a formidable 394, giving them a first-innings lead of 284. South Australia, in response, stumbled to 53 for 3 at stumps, still needing 231 runs to avoid batting again.
Patterson’s innings was a patient one, with the two-time Test representative taking his time to settle in before unleashing his trademark cover drives. He eventually fell to Brendan Doggett, but not before giving NSW a solid foundation.
Patterson was one of four NSW players to pass 50 against the previously undefeated South Australians. Nic Maddinson (69) set the tone on the opening evening, while Oliver Davies (56) and Matthew Gilkes (55) also made significant contributions.
Davies, in particular, was impressive, using his feet to take on spinner Lloyd Pope and hitting him for a six and two fours in quick succession.
Nathan McAndrew was the pick of the South Australian bowlers, taking 4 for 90, while Doggett claimed 3 for 90. However, no South Australian bowler could match the heroics of NSW veteran Jackson Bird, who took 7 for 46 in the first innings to set up the Blues’ dominance.
