Australia's James Pattinson doubtful for the 1st Ashes Test match v England

Fast bowler James Pattinson is unlikely to get fit for the first Ashes Test match in Brisbane, starting next month. Australia’s fast bowling coach and current head coach in the ongoing tour of India, reported an issue for Pattinson as he continues to suffer with a back relate issue. He also said that spearhead Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are all set for the Gabba Test.

Interestingly, Saker was England’s fast bowling coach on their last two Ashes  tours. He said “three of them we know are on track, but James Pattinson’s had a little bit of a setback. We’re not sure how bad the injury is at the moment.”

Much needed practice

Saker added: ‘Josh Hazlewood is on track to play the first Test, Mitchell Starc is going really well and Patty is obviously flying. I think it’s really good for the whole Australian team that they’ve got three Shield games. Whether the fast bowlers play all three of those, we’ll wait and see.” Saker said.

Saker also spoke about Australia’s current form in limited overs cricket and has said that they need to improve, with an eye at the 2019 World Cup. Australia lost the ODI series to India 1-4 recently. Australia won just one out of their 13 completed ODI games recently. Captain Steve Smith was left wanting, while Matthew Wade and Glenn Maxwell faced the axe in between the series. Opener David Warner and Aaron Finch were among runs but they could not save the visitors form the embarrassing loss.

“It’s not mainly personnel, I think it’s mainly just their mindset and where they are in their games,” Saker said ahead of the first T20 in Ranchi on Saturday. “A lot of them are playing a little bit scared, which we try not to do. We try and make sure they play with a lot of freedom and express themselves as much as they can.’ he added.