queensland 36 by 0 trail New South Wales 239 (Patterson 91, Edwards 88, Lovell 3-13, Straker 3-69) by 203 runs
“I probably haven’t said it publicly, but I think they needed to be cut last year because, frankly, I wasn’t hitting well enough,” Patterson said. “I would be lying if I said that thought never crossed my mind, whether I would come back here. But fortunately, I have fulfilled all the requirements with [grade club] St George and I had my chance.”
Patterson played two Tests in 2019 against Sri Lanka, scoring a century in the second and finishing with an average of 144, but was left out of the competition soon after and last season lost his place in the New South Wales team after being dismissed as captain.
He fought hard against the moving ball in the opening session before taking advantage of the easier conditions in the afternoon and was within sight of his first century since 2022 when he was caught behind Angus Lovell, although he seemed upset with the decision.
Edwards, who missed the final round with a hamstring injury, played positively from the start to regain some initiative for NSW. Like Patterson, he looked dissatisfied with the caught decision that ended his innings short of what would have been a third first-class century.
That heralded a late collapse for NSW as Lovell and captain Mitchell Swepson cleaned up the lower order.
The day had started in similar style for the home team with Blake Nikitaras falling in the opening when he bowled a Liam Guthrie full delivery to third slip. Nic Maddinson tried to take the positive route but dragged Straker for 10 off six deliveries and Ollie Davies then fell to an excellent delivery that clipped the seam to remove off-stump.
Moises Henriques sent a wide delivery to the point and Matthew Gilkes got the upper hand on a short ball.
The Queensland attack did an excellent job in the absence of standouts Michael Neser (Australia A) and Mark Steketee (injured).
