Like a glove - how Bridget Patterson fit into Adelaide Strikers' plans

Defending champions Adelaide Strikers had a big call to make before this WBBL season. Who would replace long-time wicketkeeper Tegan McPharlin following her retirement? The decision to go with middle-order batter Bridget Patterson raised eyebrows, at least outside the Strikers' set-up, but it has proved a masterstroke.

With a game to go, she has 12 stumpings, one short of equaling the WBBL record, and the move to give her the gloves helped balance the side and give Strikers more flexibility in the draft. It wasn't, in reality, quite the left-field choice it may have looked given that Patterson has long been Strikers' back-up keeper and did the job during her youth career. But, still, taking on the role for a full tournament was a big ask.

"People were probably like 'what the hell are the Strikers doing?' but I knew I'd always been able to do it," Patterson told ESPNcricinfo ahead of Saturday's final against Brisbane Heat.

"She's been so good," said captain Tahlia McGrath. "When she said she would take the gloves we were stoked because it gave us a bit more freedom that we didn't have to pick a keeper. We all had belief in her. I saw her all pre-season working on her skills so it's really no surprise to me how well she's gone. We had a lot of doubters at the start of the season with her taking the gloves, thinking we might have missed a trick, but she's certainly proved them wrong."

However, when the prospect of taking the gloves was first raised with Patterson, during pre-season contract talks after her previous deal finished at the end of last season, it did come as a surprise to her.

"I was asked what do you reckon about this, what are your thoughts? I was caught off guard a little initially," she said. "But for the eight seasons previously I'd always been the back-up keeper - whether people knew it or not. Personally, I took a little bit of time to think what I wanted to get out of this next period of time. Then thought, why not."

And while a couple of the stumpings have owed a little bit to good fortune - she gained two from rebounds into the stumps against Melbourne Stars, the second which shouldn't have been given out - that does not take away from the consistency of her work.

"I guess it's probably gone better than I expected," she said. "I didn't have any personal expectations coming into the season. I've said to people that it's pretty easy when you have the likes Amanda [Jade Wellington] bowling legspin the way she does and the quality of our bowling attack, but guess I still have to take them as well. It's been good.

"Tegan McPharlin [was] an outstanding keeper and basically going into the season I just wanted to be able to catch them, not be a backstop. I'm glad it's panned out this way."

There were, though, a few nerves before the opening game against Melbourne Stars at Karen Rolton Oval (where the visitors would be bundled out for 29). Patterson had been through a 10-week pre-season programme of working on her keeping - something she had tried to do under the radar to avoid too much attention - with a focus on being up to the stumps, but in Strikers' final practice match she had struggled to pick the ball up under the lights.

"Whether that was the nerves and the fact Wello was ragging them at right angles, I probably did have a few nerves off the back of that," she admitted. "But having the reassurance of the 10 weeks [preparation], that settled quite quickly.

"I just back myself and know I can glove them when they are coming through and just try to get my body in the way if they do go down the leg side."

Strikers have one of the most varied attacks in the league including the twin legspin of Amanda-Jade Wellington and Anesu Mushangwe, the swing of Megan Schutt, pace of the fit-again Darcie Brown and occasional ambidextrous skills of Jemma Barsby. The pairing with Wellington's sharply-spun legbreaks has been especially profitable.

"With Anesu, she targets leg to middle a little more and Amanda is more traditional of spinning it away and trying to find the edge," Patterson explained. "I'm more likely to get the batter to run past Amanda; I'm still finding it extremely difficult to comprehend the fact that people keep running down past her bowling. Against Anesu, I probably find the batter is getting in the way more and you find yourself more behind the stumps."

Patterson is renowned as one of the best outfielders in Australian cricket, so has she missed it? "For the last eight seasons I've been running from cow to cow. Initially when I took this role on, I thought I'd miss it but to be honest I haven't as much as I thought I would.

"If anything, I kind of feel lazy behind the stumps because all I'm doing is running 22 yards down the other day and walking off, and at times feeling like I'd not done anything. But it's been cool to be behind the stumps and be more in the action. Just happy I've been able to help the bowlers out a little bit."

She is, however, pleased not to have had to make too many DRS calls with the wicketkeeper often a central figure when deciding whether to go upstairs.

"The one from Darcie the other day that got Beth Mooney down the leg side, I'm glad the ump gave it out," she said. "I thought it was out...but if that was put on me I'd have been like, oh s***."

Strikers are now one win away from back-to-back titles and this year will play the decider in front of their home crowd at Adelaide Oval. Contests with Heat have brought some spice in recent seasons, although Patterson is happy to leave the chat to others and just hopes for a special day.

"You probably couldn't ask for a more ideal setting," she said. "Hopefully we can get more than 15,000 through the gates and break that final record of Optus Stadium [in 2021] where we lost that final. If we were to be able to get 15-20,000 and win in front of a home crowd, don't think you could ask for more than that."