We hope that Samit Patel was busy chiding himself whilst watching the recent World Cup. If he had done as he was asked, Patel would have been in the England side.
There’s no doubt about his talent as a hard-hitting middle order batsman and useful left-arm spinner, but one has to question his desire. Most cricketers who had been told that they would be picked for their country providing that they met the requisite fitness levels, would swap the chapattis for the gym. Not Patel, who actually had a pretty average 2010 with 641 championship runs at 27 and 24 wickets at 40.
One hopes that he has learned his lesson (although he has ignored several warnings in the past) and turns up this summer as a much more svelte and determined character. As on his day he can win a match in any format of the game on his own.
Andy Flower for one will be watching. So will we.
Where next?
Ten to watch in 2011: Adam Lyth, Jade Dernbach, Rory Hamilton-Brown, Samit Patel, Alex Hales, Danny Briggs, Ben Stokes, James Harris, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid
County Championship Previews - Division 2: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Surrey
County Championship Previews - Division 1: Yorkshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Sussex, Somerset, Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, Hampshire, Durham
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Samit Patel winds me up to the Nth degree. He is one of, if not the, most talented young players in the country, he's a good 2nd spinner, and he's actually not a bad fielder. My problem is this: He's a lazy bastard. I went to see England v Aus in 2009 at Trent Bridge, and as I was outside the ground at the innings break getting a sandwich from one of the shops, he was there with a few of the Notts lads, in a queue at the burger stand. He was the only one that had anything, he had 2 burgers. Winds me up. Most people would do anything to play for their country. Samit is different, it seems.
Posted by: Tumo | Thursday, April 07, 2011 at 21:52
Tumo you are totally right. You can only get so far with talent. Patel needs to show application and desire in equal measure and then England could have quite a player - perfect for the number six or seven spot in the limited overs side
Posted by: The Reverse Sweep | Friday, April 08, 2011 at 07:57