Harshad Vallabhbhai Patel (born 29 January 1964) is a Kenyan-born English former first-class cricketer.

Harshad Patel
Personal information
Full name
Harshad Vallabhbhai Patel
Born (1964-01-29) 29 January 1964 (age 60)
Nairobi, Kenya
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm off break
RelationsDipak Patel (cousin)
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1985Worcestershire
1988–1990Staffordshire
1992–2012Herefordshire
Career statistics
Competition First-class List A
Matches 1 13
Runs scored 39 259
Batting average 39.00 19.92
100s/50s –/– –/2
Top score 39 68
Catches/stumpings –/– 4/–
Source: Cricinfo, 22 September 2021

A cousin of the New Zealand Test cricketer Dipak Patel, he was born in Nairobi in January 1964. After emigrating to England, Patel played first-class cricket for Worcestershire on a single occasion in 1985 against Cambridge University at Fenner's.[1] Opening the batting alongside Lawrence Smith in Worcestershire's only innings, he was dismissed for 37 runs by Archie Cotterell.[2] Patel did not feature for Worcestershire following this match. He joined Staffordshire in 1988, featuring for the county in minor counties cricket until 1990,[3][4] and also made his debut in List A one-day cricket for the county against Glamorgan in the 1989 NatWest Trophy,[5] scoring 63 runs in a losing cause against their first-class opponents.[6]

After a two year break from county cricket, Patel joined Herefordshire in 1992, with the county having just been admitted to minor counties cricket to replace Durham who had been elevated to first-class status. Patel remained as a player with Herefordshire until 2012, making 103 appearances in the Minor Counties Championship and 38 appearances in the MCCA Knockout Trophy.[3][7] In the Minor Counties Championship, he scored over 6,000 runs for Herefordshire, with eight centuries.[8] He also made twelve List A appearances for Herefordshire when they were permitted to take part in the domestic one-day competition,[5] scoring 196 runs with a highest score of 68.[9] Harshad later coached Herefordshire and led them to victory in the 2016 MCC Knockout Trophy. His tenure as coach ended in 2017, with Patel considering himself to have been made a scapegoat by the Herefordshire committee for the lack of Herefordshire based players in the county eleven.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "First-Class Matches played by Harshad Patel". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Cambridge University v Worcestershire, 1985". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Minor Counties Championship Matches played by Harshad Patel". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Minor Counties Trophy Matches played by Harshad Patel". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b "List A Matches played by Harshad Patel". CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Glamorgan v Staffordshire, 1989 NatWest Trophy". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Minor Counties Trophy Matches played by Harshad Patel". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Minor Counties Championship Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Harshad Patel". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Minor Counties Championship Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Harshad Patel". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  10. ^ Rogers, Paul (3 March 2017). "Harshad Patel feels he has been made a scapegoat by new Herefordshire CCC committee". Hereford Times. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
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