Patterson: My parents were carrying on like pork chops

The parents of Kurtis Patterson caught the eye after his maiden Test century, much to the amusement of the Australia batsman.

Published : Feb 02, 2019 16:31 IST

Kurtis Patterson's parents celebrate his maiden Test hundred
Kurtis Patterson's parents celebrate his maiden Test hundred
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Kurtis Patterson's parents celebrate his maiden Test hundred

Kurtis Patterson joked that his parents were "carrying on like pork chops" after he registered his maiden Test hundred on Saturday against Sri Lanka.

Patterson, who made his debut last week in the first Test of the series, marked his second international appearance with a score of 114 not out as Australia continued to pile on the runs in Canberra.

The host declared on 534-5 before reducing Sri Lanka, whose opener Dimuth Karunaratne was forced to retire hurt after being struck on the neck by a bouncer, to 123-3 in reply.

READ| Patterson celebrates first Test ton on tough day for Sri Lanka

There were animated celebrations from Patterson's parents in the crowd as their son brought up a memorable milestone at Manuka Oval, with father Brad going on to suggest he would celebrate by drinking 1,000 beers.

Asked if he had seen his mum and dad after play, the 25-year-old told a news conference: "Yeah, I got a hold of them on the way up, which was nice. They were actually quite ok, to be honest.

"From everything I've been told by every second person, they were carrying on like pork chops.

"It was lovely to see them, they've obviously been an integral part of my journey so it was great for them to be here and be there for me today.

"I've played that innings in my mind ever since I was a little boy, so it was really nice to get out there today and make it a reality."

More time at nets

Having previously been criticised for his failure to convert enough fifties into hundreds, Patterson has now registered four centuries in his last seven innings - two of those coming for a Cricket Australia XI against Sri Lanka in a tour match that preceded the first Test.

"There's probably been a fair bit that I've changed from last season, to be honest," he explained.

"I just kind of had a bit of self-reflection, thought about what I needed to do to convert those starts into big scores. [I have made] a couple of small technical changes, but the main ones have just been that I've changed the way that I've trained.

"I've tried to hit balls for a little bit longer on those training days and just paid a bit more attention to my mental routines and what I'm doing when I'm out there in the middle.

"I think in previous years I've probably been guilty of over-thinking it and actually changing what I'm doing when I'm getting to 50 or 60, when the reality is you don't need to change it ... you've just got to continue and go for a long time.

READ|  Karunaratne taken to hospital after being hit by short ball

"Our bowling coach at New South Wales, Andre Adams, just said to me one day at the MCG, 'you're going to be a successful batter if you've got a decent technique and if you can stay on task and make the right decisions'. I think that pretty much sums up the way I view batting and that's helped me along the way."

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