Kurtis Patterson, 25, made a late entry into the Australia squad for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka after back-to-back unbeaten centuries in the tour game.
Patterson, the New South Wales batsman, was adjudged Player of the Match in the three-day warm-up fixture at Bellerive Oval in Hobart, for his 157* and 102*.
The left-hander has amassed 3813 runs at an average of 41 in first-class cricket, including six centuries and 26 half-centuries. He recorded his best score in first-class cricket – 157 on debut against Western Australia – as an 18-year-old.
“The National Selection Panel has added Kurtis Patterson to the squad for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka,” said Trevor Hohns, national selector, on Monday, January 21.
“Kurtis has been pushing his case for selection for some time, he has been a consistent top order player for New South Wales, was a member of the Australian A tour of India prior to the commencement of our summer, and was most recently selected to compete in the day/night tour match against Sri Lanka in Hobart.
“We have been asking batters around the country to score hundreds if they want to be considered for selection, and given Kurtis’ consistent performances for NSW and his two unbeaten centuries in last week’s tour match against our upcoming opponent, Sri Lanka, we believe he deserves to be added to the Test squad.
“Kurtis has joined the squad in Brisbane to commence our preparations for the first Test starting on Thursday.”
Australia and Sri Lanka will lock horns in two Tests in Brisbane and Canberra from January 24 and February 1 respectively.
