Cricket: Patel eager to shine in Sri Lanka

Jeetan Patel. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

The perpetually enthusiastic Jeetan Patel has rarely approached a test cricket series where his sense of hope has been outweighed by a genuine expectation of meaningful involvement.

Since making his debut on the flattest pitch imaginable at Cape Town in April 2006, Patel has been a regular feature of New Zealand's test squad.

Unfortunately his role has generally been reduced to drinks waiter or substitute fielder when final pitch inspections warranted the inclusion of only one specialist spinner, his captain Daniel Vettori.

And if New Zealand are playing host, once his 12th man status was confirmed Patel would ordinarily be booked on the next available flight to wherever Wellington were competing on the domestic calendar.

Those frustrations have been standard since former New Zealand coach and ex-test offspinner John Bracewell identified Patel as a bowler capable of delivering those thankless "death" overs at the tail of a one-day international innings.

That strategy never quite reached fruition and Patel now finds himself on the periphery of New Zealand's limited overs squads, particularly the Twenty20 format where Nathan McCullum's superior hitting is now preferred.

However, there is one cricketing domain where Patel's worth is appreciated - and essential - a New Zealand tour of the subcontinent.

Patel is guaranteed an eighth test cap when the first test against Sri Lanka begins - weather permitting - at the picturesque Galle International Stadium tomorrow.

He is also programmed for a heavy workload when the teams return to Colombo for the second and final test at the Sinhalese Sports Club headquarters from August 26.

Patel warmed up for his task by taking three for 81 while churning through 25 overs against a Sri Lanka Development XI last week, a sterling effort that complemented his first innings heroics with the bat.

"It was just good to get 25 overs under my belt and spend some time in the middle," said Patel, whose spirits rose when he noticed this assignment on the ICC's future tours programme.

Patel also played both tests in Bangladesh last October so it was always likely his combination with Vettori would be an integral part of New Zealand's tactical approach.

For Patel, the test series is also an opportunity to cement his position in the selectors' longer-term thinking.

"This is a chance for me to push my claims to play more for New Zealand; play more tests, more one-dayers and maybe get back in the Twenty20 side," he said, intent on enhancing test statistics that read 26 wickets at 34.61.

Part of that self-improvement process saw him head to England at the end of the last New Zealand summer, a season where Patel felt he had been under bowled at national and provincial level.

He had no set destination in mind but lucked in when Warwickshire tabled a three-month deal.

"I went over there purely to play cricket because I felt as if I'd lost a few overs [in New Zealand], I didn't bowl as many as I'd have liked.

"I wasn't looking at a county but fortunately we picked up one."

Patel launched his stint in unusual fashion with a maiden first class century on debut, though by his own admission he "didn't set the world alight with wickets".

In three championship matches he took three wickets at 66.50; and in the one-day competition, seven at 33.42 before a minor knee injury forced him to sit out the last month of his contract.

"I actually did get confidence out of the experience," he said.

"Because I got my loads up and found some rhythm again."

New Zealand Cricket's secondment of former Pakistani spinner Saqlain Mushtaq as a part-time technical advisor has also worked wonders.

"He's been fantastic with all the guys. For me, we'd go through a check list and just talk about what's going on out in the middle from a spinner's perspective," Patel said.

Saqlain, pioneer of the deceptive "doosra", has not yet pushed the New Zealander to add it to his repertoire though Patel accepted he would eventually have to finesse his variations or become too predictable.

"He's keen to keep me kosher, keep me in line. I don't think there's too much to change now but in future years hopefully we'll spend some more time together and work on different deliveries."

Saqlain certainly saw no need for remedial work on Patel's topspinner, describing its flight in glowing terms after a net session in Colombo last week.

"It's just really good to hear those sorts of things from a world class player like that," Patel said.

"It gives you confidence in the skills you've got."

- NZPA