Can’t wait to get stuck in with Victoria and in all three formats for Australia, says James Pattinson

Although he only featured twice, Pattinson played his role as Australia retained the Ashes on foreign soil for the first time in 18 years. With that in the past, the 29-year-old is now gearing up for an exciting season at home – both domestically and for his country. 

"It's great just to be on the flight home fit and ready to go into summer here, I can't wait to get stuck in with Victoria and hopefully Australia," Pattinson told cricket.com.au.

"If I can stay fit, stay strong, put in some good performances for Victoria and hopefully I can get picked in the One-day or Test team. Hopefully, I can try and contribute in all formats for Australia. I’ve got to do that by putting my hand up for selection and performing for Victoria first. Hopefully, I'll have a really good summer, a really strong summer for whoever I'm playing for and it's just great to know I've been in England for five months with not many injuries,” he continued.

Although he will not play in Victoria's opening matches against Western Australia (Saturday) and Tasmania (Monday) at the WACA, Pattinson could potentially feature in two matches against Queensland at Junction Oval on September 29 and October 1. Looking back on his long road of recovery, the Victorian is proud of making it to the highest level of the game after a three-and-a-half-year absence.

"For me, with the back injury and surgery I've had, to get through that is a real tick and something I'm proud of. To play that first Test and get another at Headingley was extremely rewarding after a lot of hard work and a lot of hard times going through everything with my back to get back to Test cricket," Pattinson said. 

"I was (pinching myself), when I first got picked in the Ashes squad I was pretty happy and when I got the nod for that first Test was special then to go on and win a pretty crucial test at Edgbaston where England haven't lost for a long while, to contribute to a winning team there was special as well,” he added.

Meanwhile, his Test captain Tim Paine is even more excited to have the fast-bowler back among the ranks. 

"We think our home conditions suit (Pattinson) really well, so we are excited. He's bowling very, very well. He's going to be a huge asset for us going forward. We said from the start, we want to make sure we look after him so he's got a lot more years in him of Test cricket. We can't wait to get him back to Australia and unleash him during the summer,” Paine said, while in England.