Once a Bear, Always a Bear - Jeetan Patel

An integral member of the Bears’ teams in all formats for the best part of a decade, Jeets took 473 first-class wickets for the Bears and is the club’s top T20 Blast wicket-taker (141) by a mile. He was part of the Bears’ team that won all the trophies available in county cricket. As a boy in the playground, Jeets pretended to be Shane Warne. That little lad had no idea that one day many an aspiring youngster would pretend to be Jeetan Patel. 

Here, he talks to Brian Halford about his time with the Bears and his life before and after Edgbaston.  

Jeets, thank you so much for your time. What are you earliest memories of cricket, either playing or watching the game?

That was probably when I was two or three years old, playing in the hallway with my dad and sitting in the coach with him. As a youngster in Wellington, I just used to nestle up next to him and got well into it straight away.  

Who inspired you the most to continue your cricketing dream in those early years?  

My Dad. He played cricket himself and was always keen on me playing the game. I went with him to games at weekends and to practice every Tuesday and Thursday. It became full-time pretty quickly where we would play some cricket every day. I remember, when I was a kid bowling seamers, I had to meet the challenge of hitting the top of off-stump six times before I could come in for dinner!  

Why did you choose to become a spinner? 

I didn’t really choose the profession, I pretty much stumbled across it. When we played as kids in the back garden or down alleyways or wherever we could get a bat and ball in, we’d all want to be Shane Warne. Then it turned out our school team didn’t have a spinner so I said I’d do it. A month later I was picked in the junior squad for representative cricket as a spinner.  

Your favourite aspect of being a spinner? 

It has changed over time. As a kid, it was about how many times you beat the bat or see the bails fly. Later on, as I learned more about what I was doing, it was more about the art and deceiving the batter, whether it’s in the air or off the pitch, and seeing it play out for the team. It’s the mind games you play between bowlers and batters. It’s a great little art.  

Aside from Warwickshire, which teams have you represented over the years?

Kilbirnie, Eastern Suburbs, Wellington Firebirds and New Zealand.  

How did the opportunity to play for Warwickshire first materialise? 

It was pretty random. During a New Zealand A tour of England in 2008 I met an agent at the bar and was having a beer and talking some rubbish. The year after, I got a phone call in the middle of the night saying that Warwickshire were interested. Ashley Giles and Ian Westwood were head coach and captain at the time and they got me on board. In my first year I wasn’t as good as I’d like to have been, so I felt I owed the club a bit more, so to come back in 2011 and then carry on was fantastic. I was really pleased to repay their faith in me.  

What would you say is the highlight from your time with Warwickshire? 

That’s a really interesting question! Is it the trophies and the games you won? Well, of course it is, that’s what we all play for. Winning all four trophies available, that’s including Division Two, was very special and they are all the things you aspire to as a player, but I think the greatest thing that Warwickshire has given me is ending up in Harborne. As a kid living in Wellington I never thought I’d end up living in another country with all the wonderful friends and connections and families that we have joined up with since 2009. It has been such a fantastic adventure and to still be involved in cricket and work with the England set-up now is amazing, I can only thank Warwickshire so deeply for that.  

How do you reflect on your time with the Bears? 

I loved every minute of it. At the time, you don’t fully realise how much fun it is and what a cool job you’ve got in – representing Warwickshire with all its history and wonderful people at such a great stadium. As a kid, I just wanted to play cricket every day and that’s what Warwickshire enabled me to do as an adult! You play sometimes six days a week and sometimes don’t get the results you want, but you are still out there doing what you love. I put everything that I could into my performances – some would say I went over the top at times - but I would like to call it passion! I just loved it.  

What have you been getting up to career-wise since retiring as a player? 

I was lucky enough to start working with the England squad as a coach/consultant while I was still playing for Warwickshire so that transition happened really quickly. I landed a job with the ECB in the spin department which I love. I never thought I’d get into coaching but at the back end of my career I really enjoyed helping the youngsters. I felt it made my game better but I was also passing on some of the things I had learned along the way.

Now to be assistant coach to the England Men’s team is a real privilege. There is a lot of hard work and close scrutiny involved, but that’s no different to when you are a player. I don’t want to play another game of cricket – I haven’t played a single game since I left Warwickshire. I had my time as a player and enjoyed every bit of it, so now I am really lucky that I still get to watch and influence what comes next.  

Do you have any hobbies/interests outside of cricket that help you switch off? 

I have always played golf. I stumbled across it at 16 and haven’t stopped, but what helped me most in my career in terms of switching off and perspective was becoming a father. Cricket is just a game and you can forget that when you are in the moment and you are out of form. Having kids was a huge motivation. Now I do a little bit of DIY and landscape gardening and try to make our house a little bit more beautiful, but I really enjoy just doing nothing with my time off. We are very busy when the summer comes round, so I love being at home when I can.  

Are there any interesting facts about you, cricket-related or in wide life, that people might not already know about? 

I was always quite superstitious when it comes to cricket. I never used to eat duck or pears and I still don’t as I am still around cricketers. I still have a few strange ones, like which shoe I put on first. Cricket puts you into these weird places and you tend to rely on things that have no effect on anything to get you over the line!  

Big question to finish - what would you say has been the proudest achievement of your life to date?

I’ve been so lucky to be part of so much wonderful stuff but probably my proudest achievement was us as a family upping sticks and moving to England. It was a pretty big move for us all. We are home-loving people but working for England is such a thrill and seeing my kids on the outfield post-Test matches and ODIs and just running around and doing what I used to love doing as a kid is very special.