Nottinghamshire’s left-arm spinning all-rounder Samit Patel has been called-up by England for the forthcoming Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.
The 30-year-old replaces the injured Zafar Ansari in a touring party that already includes the Notts trio of Stuart Broad, James Taylor and Alex Hales.
Patel, who has won five Test caps, has experience on tour in subcontinental conditions having been a member of the England squad which won a Test series in India for the first time since 1984-5 in 2012. He also toured Sri Lanka with England earlier in the same year.
“I have always been aiming to get another chance to play for England,” said Patel, who averages 37.36 with the bat and 39.83 with the ball in first class cricket. “It’s something I never gave up on.
“It’s exciting to have been picked; it’s up to me to make an impression on the tour and hopefully earn a place in the team.
“I feel like my bowling has improved a lot since I last played international cricket and, playing over in the UAE, the conditions should give me some assistance.
“With the bat, everybody knows the Pakistan spinners are going to play a big part and batting against slow bowling is something I’m confident in doing. It’s one of my strengths and something I’ll be focusing on doing well over there.”
Patel has been ever-present for Nottinghamshire across all three competitions in 2015, scoring 1,345 runs and taking 50 wickets.
He has scored first-class centuries against Yorkshire and Durham, with his season’s best bowling performance of 4-23 bowling Nottinghamshire to victory on the final afternoon of the LV= County Championship fixture against Warwickshire at Trent Bridge.
“The timing of this injury, on the day his selection was announced, was particularly cruel for Zafar and he is naturally extremely disappointed to have to pull out of the tour. The ECB and Surrey medical staff will supervise his rehabilitation closely and we all hope that he will be able to take up his place in the EPP and Lions squads for their trips to UAE later in the year.
“As a left-arm spinner and a middle-order batsman, Samit is a similar type of player to Zafar and his previous international experience, and in particular, experience of performing for England in sub-continental conditions will be an extremely useful asset to the squad in the UAE.”
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.