Minal Mahesh Patel (born 7 July 1970) is a retired Indian-born English cricketer who made two appearances in Test cricket for the England cricket team. He was a right-handed batsman and a slow left arm bowler, who primarily played for Kent County Cricket Club. As of 2018 he is the Second XI coach at Kent.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Minal Mahesh Patel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 July 1970 Bombay, India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Diamond | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Slow left arm orthodox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut (cap 579) | 6 June 1996 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 9 July 1996 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–2007 | Kent (squad no. 77) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005/06 | Central Districts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 13 November 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born in Bombay (now called Mumbai), and educated in England at Dartford Grammar School and later Manchester Polytechnic, Patel's first-class cricket debut for Kent came at the end of the 1989 English cricket season, in a match against Middlesex.[1] He became a regular in the Kent side over the following seasons, and in 1994 and 1995 "took wickets for fun";[2] indeed in 1994 he was the leading wicket-taker in England with 90 at a bowling average of 22.86.[3] 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.[4]
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,[5] Patel struggled to make an impact on a green wicket, only bowling ten overs in England's eight wicket win.[6] 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.[7]
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.[4] He returned the following season, and performed consistently for them through the following eight seasons.[8]
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.[9] This came after he had been mentioned in relation to a possible recall to the England squad[4] 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.[10]
References
edit- ^ "Kent v Middlesex at Canterbury, 1989". CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
- ^ "Got him!". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
- ^ "First-class Bowling in England for 1994 (Ordered by Wickets)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
- ^ a b c Matthew Reed. "Brief Profile of Min Patel". Retrieved 4 May 2008.
- ^ Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. "1997 – England v India". Retrieved 4 May 2008.
- ^ "1st Test: England v India at Edgbaston, Jun 6–9, 1996". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
- ^ "3rd Test: England v India at Nottingham, Jul 4–9, 1996". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
- ^ "First-class bowling in Each Season by Min Patel". CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
- ^ "Final: Wellington v Central Districts at Wellington, 3–7 Apr, 2006". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
- ^ "Min Patel announces retirement". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 May 2008.