Steve Patterson has revealed how a congratulatory message on reaching 400 LV= Insurance County Championship career wickets left him all confused – a touch Dizzy, you might say.
Patterson had Glamorgan’s Timm van der Gugten caught at slip during Friday’s second day of the rainy draw in Cardiff.
The 37-year-old’s milestone wicket came in his 150th appearance in this competition, an achievement recognised from South Australia by Jason Gillespie.
“To be honest, I didn’t know anything about it,” admitted Yorkshire’s captain.
“I got a message from Dizzy saying, ‘Congratulations on your 400th’. So I had to look it up on the website to try and understand what he was talking about!
“I’ve got a few more in first-class cricket, but it’s a nice little milestone.”
Patterson’s 150th Championship appearance saw him take three wickets in the first innings and then hit a crucial 47 not out as Yorkshire, replying to 149, recovered from 111-8 to post 230 on a challenging batting surface.
He shared a partnership of 118 for the ninth wicket with Test captain Joe Root, who hit a superb 99.
“It was nice to get a few runs and nice to bat with Joe. I haven’t done it for some time really,” he continued.
“At that stage we were 111-8 and could have been in a really difficult position. It was just about trying to do what I could for the team to help get us back on top.
“In the end, with the weather, it counted for nothing in a sense.”
Patterson continued: “It’s lovely to see how successful Joe’s been, but to me he’s still the Joe I’ve watched grow up from 14 or 15.
“He’s a good friend, and for the limited time we see him each year it’s good to enjoy his company. It was nice to be out there with him.”
He added, with a smile on his face: “When he got into the eighties and nineties, I tried to rein myself in a bit because I was playing a few loose shots. I’m just glad it wasn’t me who cost him a hundred.”
Returning to the subject of his 400th Championship wicket, Patterson was asked to pick out a favourite career performance and a wicket which stands out.
He said: “The performance which stands out the most, because it’s my career best but mainly because of the way the game went, was Essex in 2018 when we were bowled out for 50 and came back to win the game. I got 6-40 second innings.
“Games like that are the ones which stay with you. In adversity coming out to win them.
“There was a wicket in that innings when I bowled Alastair Cook from around the wicket. It was quite a nice ball. To get a player of his calibre out was nice.
“But the most pleasing thing for me is it’s just nice to still be playing and contributing to the team.”
Patterson can now stick his feet up for a week with Yorkshire afforded a fixture free round in the Championship after six games in a row.
They sit top of the Group Three table with three wins and three draws, five points clear of Lancashire, who have a game in hand and play this week.
Next up for Yorkshire is a Roses clash at Emirates Old Trafford a week on Thursday.
Patterson added: “I was a bit tired with the ball late on day three (at Glamorgan).
“I said this to the lads the other day, I’m not conditioned to bat for a long time. I can bowl 20 overs in a day no problems, but ask me to bat for more than 20 minutes and it feels like my body is falling apart.
“Six games back-to-back – six weeks in a row, has been a tough slog for the whole team.
“It will be good to have a week off, rest the bodies ahead of Lancashire next week, which will be a big match. We will be the top two in the table, and there’s a lot to play for.”
