CRICKETER Kurtis Patterson said throughout his youth his personal motivation was to play for St George.
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The boy who grew up in Roselands and later moved to Lugarno said he always wanted to wear the St George cap in first grade.
"I would watch the first grade games at Hurstville Oval," Patterson, now 22 said.
"I wanted to bat on the ground.
"It was my childhood dream to play for St George, it was always an ambition."
Patterson and his teammates face Sydney in round four of the Sydney Cricket Association competition on Saturday at Hurstville Oval.
Saints, Sydney and Bankstown, share the lead on 18 points.
Patterson said he honed his batting skills in the cricket nets at Bennett Park, Roselands, near where he lived as a boy.
Patterson's development started with the St George Green Shield under-16s team when he was 13.
"After three years in Green Shield I was graded at 16 and played first grade at 17," Patterson said.
Patterson has progressed from promising young first grader to established player and full-time member of the NSW Sheffield Shield and one-day squads.
The left-hander averages 41 at Saints in first grade and he has scored two centuries for NSW averaging 33.27.
Patterson scored 157 on debut for NSW in the 2011-12 season against Western Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Moises Henriques is unavailable as he is playing for NSW in the Matador Cup one day final on Sunday. Skipper Trent Copeland is out with a side strain, opener Stewart McCabe captains the team. Play starts 10.30am.
Saturday's side: Stewart McCabe (C), Steve Cazzulino, Kurtis Patterson, Damian Bourke, Ashton May, Nathan Stapleton, Jonathan Rose, Darius Visser, Andrew Walsh, Nathan Ellis, Eric Denhartog.
