"Sometimes I thought I might never get back": James Pattinson

Australia pacer James Pattinson is back in England at the start of an Ashes summer and has reflected on his feelings, saying that he thought he might not be able to make a comeback.

"There are always those doubts, but there are a few guys who have had the same thing before me and they have come out the other side okay and that helped me stay optimistic. But coming here in the taxi from the airport it came into my mind that at one time I sometimes thought I might never get back here," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Pattinson, as saying.

Pattinson is also being optimistic about being a part of the Ashes, even though it is now more than three years since his last 'Test' appearance, before going through a major back surgery in November 2017.

"There is a long way to go before then and obviously there is a World Cup too," he said after being asked about his Ashes prospects.

"It is about playing cricket and building up my strength and stamina. I didn't bowl a heap of overs in the Shield games - I think the most was 26 overs in a game. So the next step is to see how I cope with more overs and see how my body responds. But at the moment my back feels as good as it ever has. It is too early to be looking too far ahead but I feel it's promising times," he added.

Ashes 2019 will commence on August 1 after the World Cup.