C. D. Patel played cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 for Tanzania between 1956 and 1967 and for Zambia between 1968 and 1972. A right-handed batsman and off spin

Off spin

Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers and/or wrist to spin the ball from a right-handed batsman's off side to the leg side...

 bowler, he also played first-class cricket

First-class cricket

First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...

 for East Africa.

Career

Patel made his international debut in 1956 when he played for Tanzania (then Tanganyika

Tanganyika

Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...

) against Uganda in Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...

. The following year he played for them against Kenya, Uganda and the MCC

Marylebone Cricket Club

Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...

. In the match against the MCC he took the wicket of England international Peter Richardson

Peter Richardson (cricketer)

Peter Edward Richardson is an English former cricketer, who played for Worcestershire, Kent and, in thirty four Tests, for England....

 in both innings.

He played three times against Uganda in each of the next three years, but after that it would be another seven years before he returned to international cricket. India toured East Africa

East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

 in 1967 and Patel featured in two matches. First he played in a match for East Africa that was his only first-class match and also played in Tanzania's match against India, during which he took the wicket of Hanumant Singh

Hanumant Singh

Hanumant Singh was an Indian cricketer. He played in 14 Tests for the Indian cricket team from 1964 to 1969. He was later an International Cricket Council match referee in 9 Tests and 54 One Day Internationals from 1995 and 2002.Singh was born in Banswara, Rajasthan...

. This was his last match for Tanzania.

He began to play for Zambia in 1968, playing in the East African Quadrangular tournament in Nairobi

Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...

, where he captained

Captain (cricket)

The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...

 the team. He played in the tournament again in 1970, scoring a century

Century (cricket)

In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...

 against Kenya, and in 1971, when the tournament was reduced to a triangular with the absence of Uganda, and where he again captained the team. He last played for Zambia in 1972 when Glamorgan County Cricket Club

Glamorgan County Cricket Club

Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...

 toured the country. He played in two matches for Zambia in addition to a match for a Copperbelt Invitation XI.