This season is the second Patterson has spent back in Dubbo after a stint in Sydney, but the lessons learned there and from various representative sides continue to guide him today.

They’ve taken his game, in particular his batting, to the next level and were a major reason he was this week named in the NSW Country squad for the upcoming Australian Country Championship in Shepparton, Victoria.

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“I think I’ve lost a few (kilometres) with this old age,” he laughed of his bowling.

“But it’s more trying to sell myself as a package now, not just being a guy on the scene who is young and quick.

“If I can tick all these boxes and sell myself as a whole package I’ll be picked in more teams and make it a lot further.”

Patterson has taken on a more senior role in club cricket since making the switch to Newtown during the off-season.

His knowledge of the game has been boosted greatly by experiences like playing in Sydney, being part of the Sydney Thunder Development XI, playing for the NSW Indigenous XI, and being a member of the Australian Indigenous XI squad which took part in a historic tour of England earlier this year.

“I feel my understanding of the game is a lot deeper and my knowledge is a lot broader,” he said.

“That’s helped me more with my batting than my bowling so far. It comes from the exposure and from having a few good mentors and people helping off the field as well.”

As Patterson stated, his ability with the bat has improved drastically in recent years.

Few players in the region hit the ball as cleanly as he does, as showcased by his destructive 23-ball half century in the recent Baggy Blues tour match at No. 1 Oval. That performance even had current leading state player Daniel Hughes scratching his head over where to bowl to the powerful right-hander.

“I spent a year with the St George Cricket Club and rather than working on mindset I worked more on a different skill-set and unorthodox cricket shots,” he said.

“Your reverse sweeps and ramping, even though that is sub-par at the moment, but I think I’ve learnt a lot about playing the 360 degrees of the field and now everything is clicking I feel like a lot more of a dangerous player.”

Patterson is keen to showcase those skills at the Australian country titles in Shepparton from January 3-11.

The young gun stated before the season a spot in the Australian Country squad, the highest honour for someone playing their trade in the bush, was a goal this summer.

“It’s good to be up with the likes of Mitch Bower and Jordan Moran so I’m pretty flattered to be there,” Patterson said, his fellow Dubbo players having represented the Bush Blues in the past.

“It’s a box ticked and hopefully I can go there and do what I do best and hopefully get that next feather in my cap and stick true to that statement.”

Patterson earned his spot after being a standout for Western Zone at the recent NSW Country Championship northern pool carnival.

He made 42 on the first day and 92 in the third and final game while he also took five wickets when opening the bowling each day.

“I was a little disappointed, to be honest, being critical of my own performances,” he said.

“I threw away a 50 in the first game and threw away 100 on the third day so I’m being critical but that’s what you’ve got to do to be better.”

With much of the national titles being Twenty20 matches Patterson stated he was keen to contribute with the bat more in those games while the one-day games were more of a chance for an all-round showing.