Surrey’s top-order batter Ryan Patel opens up to Richard Spiller about how it feels to win the LV=Insurance County Championship, the work put in over the winter, team bonding, and more.
Anxiety before an innings is a common cause shared by most players before an innings.
Ryan Patel admits that he was more than usually agitated when he walked down the steps to open with Rory Burns when Surrey set out to make the 55 runs needed to complete victory over Yorkshire last September, the glorious late summer sunshine made all the brighter for knowing that it would seal the LV County Championship Division One title.
“It was probably the most nervous I’ve been – I really wanted to be out there on the field at the moment we won the title,” he explains.
“To be out there with Burnsy when he hit the winning runs was just brilliant.”
Patel had been a member of the squad which took the title four years earlier, albeit in less of a central role although his spell of six wickets for five runs against Somerset at Guildford brought one of the more spectacular episodes along the way, the visitors’ dressing room almost needing a revolving door to cope with the traffic.
And of the 2022 triumph he adds: “We played such a brilliant brand of cricket, which was exciting for members and everyone else to watch.
“Our target was to win the title but there was never a stage where it was cut and dried until we beat Yorkshire, with Hampshire having already lost to Kent. It only needed a slip-up by either side along the way.”
Patel was one of three players ever present in the side – along with Burns and Hashim Amla – and among those chiefly responsible for Surrey making their best start since 2006 as they won two out of the first three matches. Half-centuries against Warwickshire and Hampshire were followed by making 102 at the Kia Oval, a key contribution in hunting down the 237 needed to beat Somerset by three wickets.
“I started the season in great form and making that century against Somerset was very rewarding because it contributed to an important win. Over a season all players tend to have good and bad spells, so you aim to be as consistent as you can, making the good parts last as long as possible.
“Confidence is a huge part of it. I’ve tried to be more aggressive. Trusting yourself to play your shots and not be afraid of getting out is a big part of it. I think that really freed me up.”
With the arrival of Dominic Sibley to open with Burns, Patel’s role within the side has changed again but it’s something he approaches with equanimity: “You’ve got to be adaptable. When I first came into the team, it was primarily as a bowler who batted. That’s changed over time but I certainly see myself as more of a top four player now. Last year there was an opening at the top of the order and I did it but it doesn’t bother me too much whereabouts in the top four.
During the winter he worked on “a few tweaks”, explaining: “There haven’t been too many major changes but just a few things, like being more aggressive against spin.”
Being back in the cut and thrust of the season following the months of preparation clearly delights him: “We’re a tight-knit group and we enjoy winning for each other. We had some occasional bad days last year but we always bounced back and that’s so important over a season.”
