After being axed from the team for the Mohali Test, the three were seen assisting other team members with throwdowns. Pattinson, especially, has been impressive in this series and had a strong possibly of coming good in the third Test.
A day after he was excluded from the squad for not complying with coach Mickey Arthur's demand to submit a self-introspective note on the way forward for the Aussies, the tall paceman was sent to address the media here. Pattinson appeared contrite and apologetic in his tone. Did he have any choice but to say the team management had taken the right decision?
"We had a training session yesterday and we apologized to the team about it," Pattinson said. "It does hurt, missing a Test match. It's not only that, you let your team down as well. At the time I was told, I was quite upset. At the start I didn't take it as well as I probably could have. The easy thing for me was to make excuses and say it's a harsh punishment.
"But the reality is it's not - it's part of playing cricket for Australia. You've got to do everything right. It wasn't hard for the other 12 blokes to get it in on time and they took the time out to really reflect and do what's best for the team, whereas we four didn't. Right now I'm still hurting about it but in the long run I think it's going to make us a better team."
The fast bowler reflected that the task given to him by the team management - of assessing the reasons of the defeats in Chennai and Hyderabad - was something which could have been easily completed on time. "He (coach Arthur) wanted it in by Saturday night and it was one of those things where I didn't put in 100%, it was part forgetting and at this level you can't forget," he said.
"It's pretty cut-throat and personally not good enough. It wasn't a hard task at all and it was something that was very valuable for the team going forward. It comes down to preparation for a Test, you can prepare in the nets and the batting, bowling and fielding but preparing off the field as well is just as important."
The Australian team has faced scathing criticism from several quarters for the move, and Pattinson said, "They (experts) are entitled to their opinion and a lot of the players that are criticizing this move were great players and they probably didn't have to deal with this stuff, because they were in a period of time when they were on top of the world.
"We're in a different position. We're trying to build a culture. We've got a lot of young guys. I think people are starting to understand the reasons behind it."
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