Mick Newell keen to see Samit Patel become a match finisher for Nottinghamshire

Notts director of cricket Mick Newell wants to see bowler Samit Patel become a match-finisher.
Samit Patel celebrates the wicket of Alex Davies during the Vitality T20 Blast Semi Final between Notts Outlaws and Lancashire Lightning. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)Samit Patel celebrates the wicket of Alex Davies during the Vitality T20 Blast Semi Final between Notts Outlaws and Lancashire Lightning. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Samit Patel celebrates the wicket of Alex Davies during the Vitality T20 Blast Semi Final between Notts Outlaws and Lancashire Lightning. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Newell believes the spin king has steadily improved year on year as a potential match-winner for the Outlaws.

But he now wants to see the Worksop man become the player who gets the job done.

“There are games he’s helped us to win and there are games he’s won on his own,” said Newell during an interview with Covered, the club’s members’ magazine.

“He’ll be remembered for that match-winning ability as much as he’s remembered for his statistics.

“He was in our second eleven at 14 when he got Michael Lumb LBW and we could see that he was a talented cricketer, but the subtle difference between him and others is that he’s a games player and he’s always looking for ways to win when he’s losing.

“He’s the most extreme example of a player who will verbally express his belief that he’s going to win any particular game.

“He’ll want to talk about it and he’ll want everybody to hear it rather than just get on with it.

“He’s backed that up over the years and I actually think he’s a better match-winner now than he was five or six years ago when he’d get you somewhere near and Chris Read or James Taylor would finish it off. He needs to be the finisher now.

“Samit has the hide of a rhino and I’m not aware of any other cricketer that, when he’s in the moment, won’t even acknowledge the possibility of defeat,” said Mick.

“Whatever Samit goes through and whatever you say to him, you won’t knock him.”

It is a confidence which Patel believes has grown with experience since making his debut for Notts way back in 2002.

“I played cricket from a very young age and as I played more and won more, I developed a belief that I could win games from increasingly difficult positions,” Patel said.

“There are times when I genuinely believe it and nobody else does and times when I might say something to rev the boys up. Either way, once you believe in yourself, others will look to you in pressure situations.

“The game could be gone, but if you get that bit closer to a result, the team will be mentally stronger next time.

“I’ve always looked at Alastair Cook as an example of a player with freak mental strength. Whenever things went off around him, he stuck to what he was good at and always had a plan.

“That clarity is a big part of what brings you success."

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