The curious case of Patrick Patterson: Gone AWOL

[Tiger80]

There had been intimidating fast bowlers from the Caribbean before him. But none was more vicious than Jamaica's Patrick Patterson. In India, they still remember him as the train that wrecked the hosts in New Delhi with his fire and hostility. And of course for that bowling action, menacing, threatening and nasty. It started with him pawing the ground thrice like a horse setting off on a gallop and ended with his front studs pointing at the batsman before he delivered his thunderbolt. In 28 Tests, he charged in with pace and terror and racked up good numbers: 93 wickets at an impressive strike-rate of 51.9. Then, after an errant tour to Australia in 1992, Patterson was dropped. Never to return, he disappeared from the face of the earth. Where is Patrick Patterson? For close to two decades, it's been one of the biggest mysteries in West Indian cricket with no definitive answer yet. Over the years, there have been many versions regarding his whereabouts as well as what he's believed to be up to. The most common among those is that Patterson was lost to the bush, as they say in Jamaica, drifting away into the wilderness due to drug abuse and destitution. Some say he's been in a mental asylum, while there are even those who believe that the 51-year-old has now shifted base to the USA. His parents, Emelda and Morris, still stay up in the tiny, quaint town of Hectors River in the district of Portland. The Pattersons' abode is right off the main road and is still popular among the locals here. According to Emelda, not many people come around asking about their son anymore. Away but in touch They may be doting parents, septuagenarians now, but they accept that their dear Patrick isn't quite where he or they expected him to be in life. Like everyone else in Jamaica, they too haven't seen their son for many years. "But he does keep in touch with us," says Emelda, welling up. She believes Patterson stays in Harbour View, a down-scale community in the eastern border of Kingston, where, in her words, he does 'nothing'. "We have never lost sight of him. There are many things that are said about Patrick. But he's always been a good boy. For now, we're just happy that he's alive," says Morris, who lost a foot due to diabetes a few years ago. Theories abound in Kingston's cricketing circles about how Patterson went astray mainly as a result of not being able to handle the fame and money that came his way when he was at his pomp. Emelda doesn't quite buy into the theory. She instead blames her son's plight on the treatment meted out to him by the West Indies cricket administration. "He just became very frustrated and slipped into depression. And he's never been able to come out of it. Morris was a good father, who provided whatever Patrick and his sisters needed growing up. It's not a rags to riches story. It's just a case of him never coming to terms with how badly he got treated by West Indies cricket," she says. recluse He became so disillusioned, she says, that he hasn't moved out of Harbour View in a number of years, not even to visit his children, a boy and a girl, who are growing up in Canada. In fact, Patterson is supposed to have even turned down requests from his former teammates for a meeting. "Viv Richards came looking for him a few years ago, and Patrick insisted that he didn't want to meet him or do anything with cricket. The same with (Courtney) Walsh and others. The government does try and help him at times. They gave him a job to try and coach at nearby schools but he turned that down too," says Emelda. Morris, who spent a majority of his working life in Orlando, doesn't say much about his son's present state and these days spends his time sitting on the verandah and watching kids in the village play cricket and football on the streets. He recalls what he says is the best time of his life, when his son was renowned as the fastest and most feared bowler in world cricket. "He got that pace from his grandfather. I could bowl quick too when I had both feet. In the early 80s, Clive Lloyd came to Jamaica looking for fast bowlers. Patrick and Walsh were selected to bowl at Lloyd, and our boy broke the legend's thumb with his first ball, leaving him very impressed," he says. "Soon after, Michael Holding went down with an injury, and Patrick was called in as his replacement for a Test against England in Kingston. There was no looking back," says Emelda, who would make it a point to go to Sabina Park when her son was playing or spend hours listening to commentary on the transistor. The Pattersons also reminisce about the time they were the most talked-about family in the whole of Portland, with hundreds crowding their house whenever Patrick was tearing down a batting lineup in some part of the world. Cricket also ensured that their son moved away, to the big, bad world outside. Little did Emelda and Morris know that they would never see him again. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-curious-case-of-patrick-patterson-gone-awol/1138862/0

The fastest bowler of one time living such a sad life

[fineleg]

Yes his action was like a choo-chug-chug train like action

[Robelinda]

Patterson was wayward, but scary as all hell when he was younger. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHt2Ri9XsSE]Patrick Patterson 5/39 vs Australia 1988 MCG - YouTube[/ame]

[Tiger80]

The scene is set at a Test match between Australia and the West Indies at Adelaide Oval back in February 1989. These were the days when the Windies were the greatest power the cricketing world had ever seen, the days when they used to select 11 fast bowlers in the team and a 12th man who was a fast bowler just to be on the safe side. And it was into just such a furnace that the young bowler Mervyn Hughes walked - with bat in hand. Figuring fortune favoured the brave, Hughes wielded the willow like an axeman his axe, and somehow - after snicking fortutiously, connecting full-bloodedly, and missing entirely - he finished the day's play at 72 not out. The tradition in Test cricket is that the batting side take a few beers into the fielding side's dressing-room afterwards, but not on this evening. Instead, Merv took an ice-box full of bottles, so keen was he to give the men of the Windies the full blow-by-blow account of every run he'd made. So it was that half an hour later, Jones - who himself had contributed 216 - and Hughes and several other Australian players were in the Windies dressing-room, when a sudden hush fell upon the gathering. They looked to the door and there was Sir Donald Bradman himself, being ushered into the room by several South Australian cricket officials. The Don had expressed a desire to meet this mighty team, and now here he was. For the next 15 minutes or so, the great man was introduced to the visiting players, with each West Indian standing up well before Sir Donald got to their position on the bench. Then, when their time came, they warmly shook his hand and had a few words. This all proceeded splendidly until Sir Donald got to the last man on the bench, Patrick Patterson - the fastest bowler in the world at that time. So the story goes, not only did Patterson not stand, he simply squinted quizzically up at the octogenarian. Finally, after some 30 seconds of awkward silence, Patterson stood up, all two metres of pure whip-cord steel of him, and looked down at the diminutive Don. "You, Don Bradman!?!" he snorted. "You, Don Bradman?!?! I kill you, mun! I bowl at you, I kill you! I split you in two!" In reply, Sir Donald, with his hands on his hips, gazed squarely back at Patterson and calmly retorted: "You couldn't even get Merv Hughes out. You'd have no chance against me, mate!" http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/2999660/Australia-stops-to-mourn-hero.html

Looks like he was very aggressive or a psycho

[MCcricket]

We the cricket loving fans so wish Windies cricket redeems it self to get back on its knees, Patterson was a fearsome bloke, with the metal in his boot and the pace, he did have a good action , got good bounce with pace, seems like mentally not the smartest .

[maniac]

One of those actions as kids we would imitate along with abdul qadir

[rkt.india]

Patterson was wayward, but scary as all hell when he was younger.

TBH, is not looking as express as people talk about to be, would say looks around 140-145.

[vvvslaxman]

One of those actions as kids we would imitate along with abdul qadir

Graham Dilley was another guy who had start stop run up.

[tweaker]

I was very found of his action

[Ghost Buster]

I still remember watching him bowl in india on tv and i was very impressed with his action and we used to call him 'Wolf' for his runup. Was definitely a very good fast bowler but born in wrong era in WI.

[Tiger80]

TBH' date=' is not looking as express as people talk about to be, would say looks around 140-145.[/quote'] Gooch said the only time he feared for his life was when Patterson bowled to him.Srikant also said that [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWHt0D5lcSA]FASTEST BALL IN CRICKET HISTORY PATRICK PATTERSON - YouTube[/ame]

[CoverDrive]

that's a sad story :( he was a definite terror and one of the west indies quicks i have seen live on TV

[Zanjeer]

Is he anyway related to Tino best?

[rkt.india]

Gooch said the only time he feared for his life was when Patterson bowled to him.Srikant also said that [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWHt0D5lcSA]FASTEST BALL IN CRICKET HISTORY PATRICK PATTERSON - YouTube[/ur

Was any speed gun there? He was so menacing not just because of pace but the height the ball was delivered. He certainly quicker than the likes of Ambrose and Walsh and might be as quick as a young Ian Bishop.

[adi B]

marchant de lang has a similar action

[Tiger80]

Was any speed gun there? He was so menacing not just because of pace but the height the ball was delivered. He certainly quicker than the likes of Ambrose and Walsh and might be as quick as a young Ian Bishop.

There was no speed gun but still Srikkant said that he was bowling around 150 mark which sounds true if he was quicker than Ambrose

[putrevus]

Was any speed gun there? He was so menacing not just because of pace but the height the ball was delivered. He certainly quicker than the likes of Ambrose and Walsh and might be as quick as a young Ian Bishop.

I thought you will be last guy to ask this kind of question.

[tweaker]

He had a very good action.

[rkt.india]

I thought you will be last guy to ask this kind of question.

Thing is. They are saying 150. How could they say that when there was no speed gun back then. Now, we can say this kind of bowling looks 150 because we have seen bowlers under speed guns. People of those times had not. Even now, it is difficult to ascertain exact speed without speed gun readings. Everyone makes guesses.

[rkt.india]

There was no speed gun but still Srikkant said that he was bowling around 150 mark which sounds true if he was quicker than Ambrose

Ambrose was 135-140K bowler. Walsh was even slower 135K. I have seen Walsh bowling 120K in his last years so it means he was never really quick. Those bowlers were so good because of their consistency and bounce. They will hardly swing the ball but cut of the seam and relentless accuracy from just short good length with extra bounce. Patterson is certainly quicker than these two. I am not contesting he was not quick. I already said he looked around 145K and even if 150K, he is not the only bowler to do that. Even Umesh Yadav and Ishant have done that.