Former England International Joins Wellington Firebirds

Former England International Joins Wellington Firebirds

The Wellington Firebirds’ squad for the upcoming Burger King Super Smash has been bolstered with the addition of former-England all-rounder, Samit Patel.

A right-hand batsman and left-arm orthodox bowler, Patel’s white ball form during the most recent English summer was superb as he starred for Nottinghamshire in the knock-out phases of both the T20 and 50-over competitions.

In the final of the T20 Blast, he hit 64 off 42 balls to help guide the Notts Outlaws to the title, picking up Man of the Match for his efforts. His short-form efforts were backed up his First-Class performances where Patel’s highest score was 257* and his best bowling 5 for 43. He finished the season as the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s Player of the Year – a title he took off his namesake, and new teammate, Jeetan Patel.

Firebirds’ Head Coach, Bruce Edgar, is pleased to have a player of Patel’s caliber joining the side, acknowledging the value he will add to all aspects of their Super Smash campaign,

“Our aim is simple: we’re looking to play entertaining, positive cricket. As we saw last year, that recipe leads to success when it’s well-executed.

“For the upcoming campaign, we identified a need to complement our squad with a quality all-rounder. With a career featuring more than 200 T20 matches, including 18 internationals, and impressive strike rates with both bat and ball, we’re excited to have Samit joining the team to fill that role.”

Patel comes to the Firebirds with high praise from Andy Pick, his bowling coach at Nottinghamshire who performed the same role with the Wellington side through last year’s Super Smash. Pick will also be rejoining the Firebirds for this year’s campaign, something that Edgar is very happy about,

“Andy’s experience and skills added a huge amount to our success last season and it’s a real boost to have him returning for 2017-18.

“He followed winning the Super Smash title with victory in the T20 Blast competition with Notts, so his record of success is impressive.”

Samit Patel will join the Wellington Firebirds following the completion of the Bangladesh Premier League where he is playing for Rajshahi Kings. The Firebirds’ defence of their Super Smash title starts on Friday 15 December against the Knights at Seddon Park.

ENDS

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