A forgotten star shone but England Lions sent his fellow Australia hopefuls a wake-up call
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A brave effort from Kurtis Patterson has been in vain after Australia A crashed to a nine-wicket loss to the England Lions in the four-day clash at the MCG.
Patterson’s unbeaten 94 off 166 balls at least ensured the Lions would need to bat for a second time in the match.
Australia A posted 271 in their second innings, with the Lions reaching their victory target of 20 with the loss of just one wicket.
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The performance was a big wake-up call to Australia’s Test hopefuls, who were outplayed across the four days of the day-night fixture.
Australia A were forced to follow-on after making just 176 in reply to the Lions’ 428.
Patterson, who was playing his second game since recovering from a serious quad injury, was happy with his individual performance but disappointed with the loss.
“I found it quite difficult. There were a few divots in the wicket, and I thought they bowled really well,” Patterson said.
“I thought they challenged our stumps and challenged our defence really well.
“Kudos to them. I think we were really outplayed there. Probably the better team won the game.
“A bit disappointed in that respect, but it was nice to get some runs.”