Min Patel
Encyclopedia
Minal Mahesh Patel is a retired India
n-born cricket
er; who made 2 appearances in Test cricket
for England. He was a right-handed batsman and a slow left arm
bowler, who primarily played for Kent
.
Born in Bombay (now called Mumbai), and educated in England
at Dartford Grammar School
and later Manchester Polytechnic
, Patel's first-class
debut for Kent came at the tail-end of the 1989 English cricket season
, in a match against high-flying Middlesex
. He became a regular in the Kent side over the following seasons, and in 1994
and 1995
"took wickets for fun"; indeed in 1994 he was the leading wicket-taker in England with 90 at a bowling average
of 22.86. Pitches at Kent's home ground, the St Lawrence Ground
, began to be prepared specifically for the spin bowling of Patel and Carl Hooper
, despite the home side also boasting a seam
attack of Alan Igglesden
, Martin McCague
, Dean Headley
and Duncan Spencer
.
1996 saw Patel make his Test debut against the country of his birth, India. One of seven players to make their debut in the match at Edgbaston, Patel struggled to make an impact on a green wicket, only bowling ten overs in England's eight wicket win. Left out for the second Test at Lord's
, he returned for the third Test at Trent Bridge
. Again, Patel struggled on a pitch not suited to spin bowling, however he managed to take his maiden (and last) Test wicket; that of Sanjay Manjrekar
, caught by Graeme Hick
.
Patel's career looked to be in jeopardy during 1997, when a combination of injuries sustained while teaching PE and whilst batting for his club side ruled him out for most of the season. He returned the following season, and performed consistently for them through the following eight seasons.
Patel joined Central Districts for one season over the winter of 2005/2006, where he proved a useful asset in the side's State Championship victory, taking six wickets in the final. This came after he had been mentioned in relation to a possible recall to the England squad as cover for Ashley Giles
on the tour of Pakistan
.
Following a recurring elbow injury, he announced his retirement from first-class cricket at the start of the 2008 season.
On February 18, 2009 he married Alison Hardwick.
On May 9th 2011, Min Patel visited Dartford Grammar School, where he was a student, for the grand opening ceremony of the cricket nets. Many guests and pupils joined him and Mr Oakes, the headmaster, in order to open the nets.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n-born 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...
er; who made 2 appearances in Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
for England. He was a right-handed batsman and a slow left arm
Left-arm orthodox spin
Left-arm orthodox spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket.Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left arm bowler using the fingers to spin the ball from right to left of the cricket pitch...
bowler, who primarily played for Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
.
Born in Bombay (now called Mumbai), and educated in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at Dartford Grammar School
Dartford Grammar School
Dartford Grammar School is a selective secondary foundation school for boys in Dartford, Kent, England, which admits girls to its sixth form . All of the students joining the school are from the top 25% of the ability range...
and later Manchester Polytechnic
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
, Patel's first-class
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...
debut for Kent came at the tail-end of the 1989 English cricket season
1989 English cricket season
The 1989 English cricket season saw the re-emergence of Australia as a world-class team after it had struggled for most of the previous 12 years. Under the leadership of Allan Border, a very fine team had been forged that included Steve Waugh, Mark Taylor, Ian Healy, David Boon and Merv Hughes...
, in a match against high-flying Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
. He became a regular in the Kent side over the following seasons, and in 1994
1994 English cricket season
The 1994 English cricket season saw the emergence of a very strong Warwickshire team who won both the County Championship and the Sunday League.-Honours:*County Championship - Warwickshire*NatWest Trophy - Worcestershire...
and 1995
1995 English cricket season
The 1995 English cricket season saw a continued dominance of the domestic scene by Warwickshire.-Honours:*County Championship - Warwickshire CCC*NatWest Trophy - Warwickshire CCC*Sunday League - Kent CCC*Benson & Hedges Cup -...
"took wickets for fun"; indeed in 1994 he was the leading wicket-taker in England with 90 at a bowling average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 22.86. Pitches at Kent's home ground, the St Lawrence Ground
St Lawrence Ground
The St Lawrence Ground is a cricket ground in Canterbury, Kent and is the home of Kent County Cricket Club. It is one of the oldest grounds on which first-class cricket is played, having been in use since 1847...
, began to be prepared specifically for the spin bowling of Patel and Carl Hooper
Carl Hooper
Carl Llewellyn Hooper is a former West Indian cricket player and captain.-Career:He was a right-handed batsman and off-spin bowler, who came to prominence in the late 1980s in a side that included such players as Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Malcolm Marshall and Courtney Walsh and represented...
, despite the home side also boasting a seam
Seam bowling
Seam bowling is a phrase used for a bowling technique in cricket whereby the ball is deliberately bowled on to its seam, to cause a random deviation. Practitioners are known as seam bowlers or seamers....
attack of Alan Igglesden
Alan Igglesden
Alan Igglesden is a former English cricketer. He played three Tests and four ODIs for England, but his playing career was ruined by injuries...
, Martin McCague
Martin McCague
Martin John McCague is a cricketer who played for England in 3 Tests from 1993 to 1994.His development as a cricketer started in Australia, where he grew up. He played first-class cricket for Kent, who due to his Northern Ireland origins were allowed to field both him and an overseas player...
, Dean Headley
Dean Headley
Dean Warren Headley is an English cricketer.He comes from a famous cricketing family, being the son of Ron Headley and grandson of George Headley. He was the first Test cricketer to be both the son and grandson of Test cricketers...
and Duncan Spencer
Duncan Spencer
Duncan Spencer was an English cricketer. Born in Nelson, Lancashire, he was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast bowler...
.
1996 saw Patel make his Test debut against the country of his birth, India. One of seven players to make their debut in the match at Edgbaston, Patel struggled to make an impact on a green wicket, only bowling ten overs in England's eight wicket win. Left out for the second Test at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
, he returned for the third Test at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
. Again, Patel struggled on a pitch not suited to spin bowling, however he managed to take his maiden (and last) Test wicket; that of Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Vijay Manjrekar is a former Indian cricketer. He has a batting average of 37.14 in his 37 Tests between 1987/88 and 1996/97, as opposed to an overall first-class average of 55...
, caught by Graeme Hick
Graeme Hick
Graeme Ashley Hick MBE is a Zimbabwean-born cricketer who played 65 Test matches and 120 One Day Internationals for England. He played county cricket for Worcestershire for his entire English domestic career, a period of well over twenty years, and in 2008 he surpassed Graham Gooch's record for...
.
Patel's career looked to be in jeopardy during 1997, when a combination of injuries sustained while teaching PE and whilst batting for his club side ruled him out for most of the season. He returned the following season, and performed consistently for them through the following eight seasons.
Patel joined Central Districts for one season over the winter of 2005/2006, where he proved a useful asset in the side's State Championship victory, taking six wickets in the final. This came after he had been mentioned in relation to a possible recall to the England squad as cover for Ashley Giles
Ashley Giles
Ashley Fraser Giles MBE is a retired English cricketer. Giles played the entirety of his 14-year first-class career at Warwickshire County Cricket Club where he is now employed as Director of Cricket...
on the tour of Pakistan
English cricket team in Pakistan in 2005-06
England failed to chase a target of under 200 runs for the first time since the fourth Test of the 1998-99 Ashes,, as Danish Kaneria and Shoaib Akhtar shared seven wickets to bowl England out in three spurts at Multan...
.
Following a recurring elbow injury, he announced his retirement from first-class cricket at the start of the 2008 season.
On February 18, 2009 he married Alison Hardwick.
On May 9th 2011, Min Patel visited Dartford Grammar School, where he was a student, for the grand opening ceremony of the cricket nets. Many guests and pupils joined him and Mr Oakes, the headmaster, in order to open the nets.
External links
- Min Patel at ECB