When Axar Patel played for Durham

 Posted by Tony Hutton

Axar Patel is already making a considerable impact on Test cricket, but how many people can remember his appearances for Durham in County Championship cricket during the summer of 2018. He was then best known as a one day international and T20 player in India and very little was known about him in this country when he joined Durham as a short term overseas signing towards the end of the season in 2018.

In fact he only played in four Championship matches for Durham. I managed to see part of both home games against Northants and Sussex at Riverside, although he also played in away games against Glamorgan and Warwickshire. He certainly started well in the game at Cardiff when he contributed 95 not out to help Durham to an innings victory, taking two tail end wickets in the first innings and just one in the second as Chris Rushworth bowled the visitors to an easy win.

Patel did not contribute much in the home defeat by Northants, just taking two wickets in the second innings as the visitors cruised to a seven wicket victory. However in the next match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston he came up with his best bowling performance for Durham with 7-54 in the second innings including the wickets of Sibley, Bell and Ambrose. He also helped Durham bat out for a draw with a valuable innings of 22 as wickets fell quickly and they only survived with two wickets in hand.

Axar Patel at the Riverside.

I can remember seeing him finish off Sussex in his final game which was all over in three days at the Riverside. In a remarkable game which started with Durham bowled out for 103 by Ollie Robinson with five wickets and South Africa David Wiese with three, they bounced back with a vengeance. Chris Rushworth destroyed Sussex by taking 8-51 and bowled them out for 122. So only a slender lead for Sussex and anyone's game at this stage.

Durham batted much better in the second innings with a career best score of 160 from American born opener Cameron Steel. This helped take them to an all out score of 340 thus setting Sussex a daunting target of 332 to win with plenty of time remaining in the game. The visitors were never in with a chance after Rushworth and Salisbury soon reduced them to 11-3. Despite 40 from Haines and some middle order resistance Sussex were dispatched for 135 with Patel finishing them off with 3-27 at the end. Durham winning by 186 runs.

As I write this today Axar Patel has been busy demolishing England's second innings in the third Test Match at Ahmedabad in front of his home Gujarati crowd. After taking 6-38 in England's first innings of 112, and despite Joe Root's 5-8 for England, he almost took a hat-trick spread over two innings, missing out by just one ball. He went on to take 5-32 in the second innings, helping Ashwin to dismiss England for a paltry 81. India requiring just 49 runs to win have recently coasted home to a ten wicket victory in less than two full days. No doubt the assembled pundits of the world will be having a field day for some time to come.