Pat McCarthy attended Royal College, Colombo, where he played in the cricket team for several years.
[3] He was one of several players from Ceylon who were invited to play for The Rest in the Bombay Pentangular over the years, appearing in the match against Hindus in 1938-39.
[4][5] During World War II McCarthy served with the Ceylon Garrison Artillery from 1940 until 1946, when he was demobilised with the rank of major.
[6] He played for Nondescripts Cricket Club in Colombo, scoring two double-centuries, ten centuries and over fifty half-centuries before leaving for Australia in 1948.
[8] On 6 February 1954 he was batting against New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground when the Duke of Edinburgh, in Australia during the 1954 Royal Visit, briefly stopped by to watch.