Samit Patel

Samit Rohit Patel (born 30 November 1984) is an English cricketer. A right-handed batsman and a slow left-arm 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 in 2012.

Samit Patel was born in Leicester on 30 November 1984, to Rohit and Sejal. His parents originated from Bhavnagar, 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 Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

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". 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.

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. 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.[10] He also took 32 wickets at an average of 47.84, with two five wicket hauls.[11] 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.[12] 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,[13] an innings of 104 from 185 balls, came in a defeat to Somerset in July.[14]