Dandenong’s James Pattinson (far right), Brett Forsyth (top) and Kumar Sarna (above) were among five Panthers players to secure contracts with the Victorian Bushrangers for this summer.By Paul Pickering
IT MAY have slipped underneath the media radar, but last week’s announcement of the 2008-09 Victorian Bushrangers squad was welcome news for a trio of Dandenong Panthers.
Teenage stars Brett Forsyth, Kumar Sarna and James Pattinson were named alongside Premier Cricket teammates Peter Siddle and Darren Pattinson in the 26-man squad.
Forsyth and Sarna, both 19, secured two of the five rookie contracts awarded for this summer, while Pattinson, 18, was elevated from rookie status to ink a two-year full contract. For Forsyth, the eagerly awaited phone call came during a class at Holmesglen TAFE, where he is – perhaps fittingly – studying sports management.
“The chairman of selectors called me, so I just had to walk out of class and he offered me the rookie contract,” Forsyth recalled.
“I was pretty excited, so I probably mucked around a bit in class after that.”
Forsyth amassed more than 800 runs in the Premier Cricket competition last summer and also impressed state selectors in combining with Sarna to spearhead Victoria’s under-19 national championships campaign.
And while he concedes that he is in awe of some of his new teammates, Forsyth is keen to learn from the best.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
“Being able to look up to guys that you’ve seen on TV, like (David) Hussey and (Cameron) White, watch the way they train, see what makes them so good and how I can get my game to the next level.”
He believes improved fitness will be the key to his development.
“If I work on my fitness, hopefully that should speed up my improvement, having faster feet and being able to bat for longer,” he said.
The gifted opening batsman has already been given a strict fitness program to follow, and says he has been amazed by the facilities and technology available at the Bushrangers’ MCG headquarters.
Meanwhile, Pattinson has long been regarded as one of the state’s – if not the country’s – top fast-bowling prospects, and that status was confirmed last week.
After recovering from a debilitating back injury, he is now eager to show his wares at state level.
“It’s all happened pretty quickly. I just turned 18 (last month), I’ve got my licence now and then this happened, so it’s definitely been a growing up period,” he said.
“I’m yet to play a game and yet to really prove myself, so it was a bit of a shock really.”
His English-born brother, Darren, 29, has also attracted plenty of attention in the off-season playing county cricket for Nottinghamshire.
Darren’s impressive early season performances even had some pundits touting him as a potential England Test player, but James laughed off the speculation.
“He’s doing very well for himself and it’s good to see him come on at a late age and do so well,” he said.
“(The England Test talk) was quite funny actually … I think everyone else blew it out of proportion.
“I haven’t really spoken to him about it, but if an offer comes along to play Test cricket you don’t pass it up.”
Pattinson senior and Siddle, a widely-tipped Test prospect at 23, will be the elder statesman of Dandenong’s Bushranger contingent next season, while Sarna who is in India, will soon join his teammates in full training.
