Samit Patel has admitted to being surprised by his call-up for England’s Test tour of South Africa.

The 30-year-old has been selected alongside three Nottinghamshire teammates - Alex Hales, James Taylor and Stuart Broad - for the four match series against the Proteas, despite having only previously played international red ball cricket in Asia.

“I’m kind of surprised and I’m thrilled to bits at getting selected,” said the all-rounder.

“I hoped I’d made a good impression on my last trip and it looks like I have, so I’m really happy.

“I’ve never been considered for a Test trip to Australia, New Zealand or South Africa before. That’s why it’s a bit of a surprise to me.

“I can’t wait to get going now and get back into training.”

A return to the England side looked to be a distant dream when Patel, without an international appearance since 2012, missed out on the original squad for the recent tour of the United Arab Emirates.

An eleventh hour injury to Surrey’s Zafar Ansari opened the door for the Nottinghamshire man, who went on to play the third Test of the series against Pakistan, scoring 42 and taking three wickets.

Conditions will be less conducive to spinners in South Africa and Patel is realistic about his chances of earning a place in the starting eleven.

“I’ve gone from playing nothing for England to selection for a Test series against the number one team in the world,” he said.

“It’s great news but I’ve obviously got to keep working hard and push people for places when I get the chance.

“I think I’ll be going as a reserve to Mo (Moeen Ali), so I’ve just got to keep working hard and pushing. If I play it’s a bonus.”

Although the 2015 season was largely dominated by seam bowling, not just in Nottingham but throughout the country, Patel’s return of 30 wickets at an average of 31.46 demonstrated a marked improvement in his bowling.

A match-winner with the ball in the dramatic LV= County Championship victory over Warwickshire at Trent Bridge, taking 4-23 on the final evening, Patel - who has been a consistent supplier of runs for Nottinghamshire for well over a decade - emphasises the importance of having two strings to his bow.

“I am a top order batsman and I bowl spin,” he said. “I perform two roles and if that can help an England team, I’ll be happy to do that.”

“Your main strength will get you a game, your second string will get you consistent games.

“If you can bat and bowl it will get you into a lot of teams. If you just bat or just bowl, you could - if you’re not playing very well - get left out more easily.

“I’ve been lucky in my career to do both because it keeps me in the game at all times. If I don’t get some runs, I can still get some wickets.”

Come the start of the South Africa series, he’ll be a Moeen Ali injury or loss of form away from doing just that, for England against the world's number one team.

 

The 2015 season has seen dramatic last-gasp four day victories, thrilling limited-overs contests and an historic Investec Ashes Test, all in the unique surroundings of Trent Bridge.

Next season, we’d wager, will be no less enthralling and frankly we’d hate for you to miss out.

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