Samit Patel

Samit Patel

Patel fielding for Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in the County Championship
Personal information
Full name	Samit Patel
Born	(1984-11-30) 30 November 1984 Leicester, Leicestershire, England
Height
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Slow left arm orthodox
Role	All-rounder
Relations	Akhil Patel (brother)
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 651)	26 March 2012 v Sri Lanka
Last Test	1 November 2015 v Pakistan
ODI debut (cap 207)	18 August 2008 v Scotland
Last ODI	27 January 2013 v India
ODI shirt no.	29
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2002–present	Nottinghamshire
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 6 36 162 208 Runs scored 151 482 9,238 5,084 Batting average 16.77 32.13 37.55 33.66 100s/50s 0/0 0/1 22/44 4/28 Top score 42 70* 256 129* Balls bowled 858 1,187 18,464 6,667 Wickets 7 24 237 192 Bowling average 60.14 45.45 39.83 30.50 5 wickets in innings 0 1 3 2 10 wickets in match 0 n/a 1 n/a Best bowling 2/27 5/41 7/68 6/13 Catches/stumpings 3/– 7/– 107/– 59/–
Source: CricketArchive, 12 September 2015

Samit Rohit Patel (born 30 November 1984) is an English cricketer. A right-handed batsman and a left-arm orthodox spin bowler, he plays first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. Patel made his One Day International debut for England in August 2008, however was later dropped from the side after failing to meet fitness levels. After an absence of 2 and a half years, he returned to the ODI side in 2011 and made his Twenty20 International debut, before becoming the 651st player to represent England at Test cricket by winning his first cap on the tour of Sri Lanka.

Early and personal life

Samit Patel was born in Leicester on 30 November 1984, to Rohit and Sejal. His parents originated from Gujarat, India, where he has relatives. Patel's brother Akhil (b. 1990) has also played for Nottinghamshire, making his debut in 2009. Patel was educated at Eastwood Comprehensive School but later studied at Worksop College in north Nottinghamshire where he was a member of the 1st XI cricket team for five seasons. Whilst at the College, Patel represented England at under 15, under-17 and under-19 levels. He helped them record wins over such schools as Repton, Manchester Grammar School and Shrewsbury School and such clubs as the MCC.

Career

Since making his début for Nottinghamshire at the age of 16, Patel has featured consistently in the team, in both first class and List A matches. He became the only man in the history of the English Twenty20 competition to claim a double-wicket-maiden, when Nottinghamshire played Derbyshire at New Road, Worcester in 2006. He scored 887 runs in the County Championship in 2007 including four centuries – he also took 10 wickets and topped the county's bowling averages. In the 2008 season, Patel made a steady start to Nottinghamshire's first-class campaign, scoring a century against Durham and three half-centuries.

International breakthrough

The big screen at The Oval records Patel's man of the match winning bowling versus South Africa on 29 August 2008

Patel made his debut for England's senior one-day team in a match against Scotland on 18 August 2008. His first wicket was that of Neil McCallum and he finished with figures of 1/22 from seven overs; he also took a catch and ran out the Scotland captain, Ryan Watson. Patel remained part of England's ODI team for the series against South Africa later that summer, taking the notable wicket of Herschelle Gibbs in the first ODI of the series at Headingley. He recorded figures of 5/41 and scored 31 runs off 49 balls in the third ODI to win the man of the match award as England claimed the series. In September 2008, it was announced that Patel and six other players – the group was mostly made up of ODI specialists – would be given incremental contracts with the England Cricket Board (ECB).

Having been previously included in England's ODI and T20 squads for the tour of the West Indies in March and April 2009, Patel was dropped over fitness concerns. Hugh Morris, the director of English cricket, stated that "Samit Patel is a talented cricketer but he, like every other player who joins the senior England team, must be aware of the strict fitness criteria that will be set. It is extremely frustrating that Samit has not heeded the warnings of his county, Nottinghamshire, and Geoff Miller [national selector] as well as the England management and strength and conditioning team. In the circumstances we had no option but to de select him from the tour ... his fitness levels have regressed between his first assessment during the build up to the England Lions tour and the second Test during the first week in New Zealand."

Despite the setback, in April 2009 Patel was selected for England's 25-man performance squad. Having worked to improve his fitness, Patel said "I have had to accept some difficult truths ... I don't want to be in a position again where I miss out on selection because of a lack of fitness". Initially included in the 30-man preliminary squad for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, Patel failed to make the final 15-man squad because of ongoing fitness problems. Geoff Miller commented "I'm disappointed for us and for him, but we've laid down the rules and players have to abide by them. He feels he's been putting the work and time in, but he cannot explain it – the figures are there".

Nottinghamshire were runners-up to Durham in the 2009 County Championship; from 15 matches Patel scored 712 runs (the 4th most for the club that year) at an average of 30.95, with a highest score of 95. He also took 32 wickets at an average of 47.84, with two five wicket hauls. In January 2010, Patel signed a three-year deal with Nottinghamshire. He part funded a journey to the Darren Lehmann Cricket Academy in Australia where he spent February and March, part of which was aimed at improving his fitness. When Nottinghamshire won the County Championship in 2010, Patel contributed fewer runs: 641 from 16 matches at an average of 26.70, making him the club's 6th highest run-scorer in the year's competition. His solitary century in the competition, an innings of 104 from 185 balls, came in a defeat to Somerset in July.

On England's fringes

In September 2009, a year after he was granted an incremental contract with the ECB, Patel's England contract was not renewed for 2009–2010. He remained on the fringes of selection, however his level of fitness prevented his selection. In January 2010, Miller stated that "He knows what is required ... the ball is in his court now and he has to go away and understand what is necessary". When England's provisional 30-man squad for the 2011 World Cup was announced in December that year, Patel was included. England coach Andy Flower had commented that Patel's style of play would be well suited to the pitches in the Indian subcontinent, which was hosting the tournament, however persistent fitness problems meant he was not selected in the final squad of 15 and not called up when the squad sustained injuries.

Samit Patel facing his first ball in ODIs since November 2008. Playing against Sri Lanka, he was dismissed for 8 runs from 14 balls.

Patel was recalled to the England squad in June 2011 to face Sri Lanka in a T20I and five ODIs. Miller explained that Patel had been selected due to "excellent form and plenty of hard work". He made his Twenty20 International debut on 25 June against Sri Lanka; Patel was run out without scoring and bowled two wicketless overs as England succumbed to a nine-wicket defeat. For the fifth and final match of the ODI series, Patel returned to play his first ODI since November 2008. He scored eight runs and took 1/49. When England beat India 5–0 in the September ODI series, Patel played three matches. He took a solitary wicket and scored nine runs from a single innings. In October, England toured India for five ODIs and a T20I. Though England lost the series 5–0, Patel scored 160 runs and took four wickets at an average of 45.50. During the third ODI Patel scored his maiden half-century, 70 from 43 balls, beating his previous highest score in the format of 42. Patel had been in the preliminary list for the player auction ahead of the 2012 Indian Premier League but opted to withdraw to concentrate on English domestic cricket as participating would have meant missing up to seven County Championship matches.

The new year began with Patel's inclusion in the England Lions squad to tour Sri Lanka in late January and early February 2012 for a one-day series. Patel played in all five matches and scored 128 runs with a highest score of 50, and was the leading wicket-taker on either side in the series with 12 wickets. When the ODI squad to face Pakistan was announced in February Patel was included. During the series, which England won 4–0, Patel was given an incremental contract by the ECB.

England had suffered a 3–0 defeats in the Tests against Pakistan and when they toured Sri Lanka in March, struggling batsman Eoin Morgan was dropped and Patel was selected in the Test squad for the first time. Patel played in both Tests against Sri Lanka, batting at number 7 each time and making scores of 2, 9, and 29 and was dismissed each time by a spin bowler. He bowled 59 overs, taking 3/122. Patel began the English season in April with a run of low scores, amassing 33 runs from his first four innings.

After a three-year absence from England's Test squad, Patel was called up for England's series against Pakistan in October 2015 after Zafar Ansari was ruled out with a hand injury.

External links

• Player profile: Samit Patel from CricketArchive
• Player profile: Samit Patel from ESPNcricinfo