Australian pacer James Pattinson retires from international cricket ahead of Ashes 2021-22

In what can be called a shocking announcement, Australian pacer James Pattinson has retired from international cricket ahead of the much-important Ashes 2021-22. With Pattinson being just 31 and doing well in domestic cricket, the decision left many fans astonished. The major reason behind the pacer’s call was his knee injury. Having struggling with his knee issues for a while, Pattinson lost motivation to get himself up for another campaign.

Pattinson has indeed been one of the finest Australian pacers in the past decade. Making his Test debut in 2011, the right-arm pacer burst onto the scenes by taking a magnificent five-wicket haul on debut. He also did well in his upcoming assignments. However, injury issues didn’t allow the pacer to play regularly. The emergence of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc is another reason why the pacer didn’t play Test cricket regularly in the past few years.

Although Pattinson has been a regular member of the Aussie Test squad lately, he would only play when one of the three main pacers are injured or rested. As far as his numbers are concerned, Pattinson took 81 wickets in 21 Test matches including four five-wicket hauls. He also appeared in 15 ODIs and four T20Is, scalping 16 and three wickets respectively.

Speaking of his decision, Pattinson said he wanted to feature in the upcoming Ashes series down under. However, he didn’t have the preparation, and subsequently, he decided to bid adieu to international cricket. The pacer, however, will continue to play domestic matches.