One-Day Cup 2025-26 – Kurtis Patterson reflects on ‘wild’ day after New South Wales seize their chance

New South Wales were 12 minutes away from having no say in the destination of the Dean Jones Trophy after rained lashed Hobart for much of Wednesday – had the game been washed out, Tasmania would have taken the title by finished top of the table.

But having won the toss more than four hours earlier, the visitors were able to take the field at 6.15pm and immediately took control of the contest as Tasmania sank to 25 for 5. Ben Dwarshuis and Sean Abbott made inroads with a new ball that moved appreciably in helpful conditions, while Tasmania captain Jordan Silk was run out to compound their woes.

Still, a target of 119 caused a few jitters for NSW who wobbled on 73 for 5 but the calmness of captain Kurtis Patterson proved pivotal as the only batter to really master the challenging conditions.

“I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet to be honest. We were about 10 minutes more rain away from not even getting on the field,” Patterson said. “It’s wild how the day panned out.

“The people who were allowed a phone in there [the dressing rooms] were looking at that radar like you wouldn’t believe and trying to move the clouds with their hands. You get lucky sometimes.”

Abbott and Dwarshuis, who were both at the T20 World Cup, had been significant inclusions for NSW and finished with six wickets between them while Dwarshuis also clubbed a pressure-easing six later in the run chase.

“They’ve got so much finals experience in white-ball cricket with both NSW and the Sixers,” Patterson said. “They’re guys I can give the first over to and they’re guys I can give the 50th and everything in between and use them as my strike weapons, too. All three phases, they tick all those boxes.

“They’re both magnificent movers in the field and they both offer a bit with the bat. They actually help the balance of our team in a lot of other ways, too, and allow us to be flexible with line-ups and different things like that.”

On a personal level, Patterson’s unbeaten 52 off 57 balls capped a magnificent tournament where he made 565 runs at 113.00 including three centuries which, coupled with a career-best 173 not out in the Sheffield Shield last month, has reignited talk over another chance with Australia after the two Test caps he earned in 2019.

“I’ve absolutely got a desire to get back and play cricket for Australia and probably for different reasons to be honest,” Patterson said. “When I was a kid, you do it because it’s what every kid wants and you want that baggy green. Now, that environment looks like such a fun place to play cricket. It looks like a place where I think I’d learn a lot and get better.

“You obviously want to test yourself against the best around the world. That desire is there but to be honest with you, it sits in the back of the mind once you’re in season. It’s one game after the other in different formats so there’s not a lot of time to spend thinking about Australian stuff.

There were contrasting emotions for Silk after Tasmania had surged into hosting the final on the back of winning their first five games of the competition before two losses to end the regular season.

“It’s pretty raw,” he said. “It’s really disappointing. We had such a good campaign. It felt like a really good opportunity gone by. It probably hurts more when you’re out of the [Sheffield] Shield race as well.”

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