Patrick Patterson – The Fastest Man Lost in the Dark
West Indies lethal fast bowling attack was unparalleled during 80s.They were the nightmares for the batsmen. At the same time, keeping them also very challenging due to sheer pace. A big credit went to Jeff Dujon who kept them magnificently years after years. When asked at Lord’s Taverners, who was the fastest among them, Dujon surprisingly picked Patrick Patterson and he mentioned that he never ever kept someone faster than him. It was a fascinating statement because beating Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall or Sylvester Clarke in speed was massive.
Embed from Getty ImagesAustralia at Receiving End:
During the third Test at Melbourne in 1988, Patrick was sledged by the Australian closing fielders. He was deeply upset during the innings break. Suddenly Patrick got up and walked towards Australian dressing room. Jeff Dujon realized something was about to go wrong and followed him. When they reached the opposition dressing room, Australian players were busy in padding up as the innings would about to begin. They didn’t expect to see the West Indies players in their dressing room. There was a pin drop silence and Patrick pointed the fingers at some of the Aussie players and told them that he would kill them. Needless to say, the Australian innings ended quickly due to the Patrick storm.
Embed from Getty ImagesLost in the Dark:
Patrick Patterson was dropped from the Team due to disciplinary reasons after the 1992/3 tour to Australia. There was no trace of him over two decades. No one knew where he was until Indian journalist ‘Bharat Sundaresan’ found Patterson in Kingston in 2017 and the story was heartbreaking. He hardly remembered anything about his glorious career. He is far away from the circus of modern life, and nothing could remind him about the cricket. Patrick Patterson never received the due credit and faded away.
References:
- Patrick Patterson – wiki
- Patrick Patterson – espncricinfo
- Scorecard
- Lord’s Taverners
- IndianExpressOnline
Featured Image Credit: Alessandro Bogliari– unsplash (resized as per the need)