Samit Patel: Derbyshire captain out to prove Notts wrong after his release

After Notts confirmed Patel would not be staying with the club beyond 2023 last September, he made sure he quickly came out to say he was “far from retired”.

And it was not just franchise cricket he was keen to chase around the world, with the all-rounder intent to add to the almost 21,000 runs and more than 700 wickets he took in the English domestic game with Notts.

“I kind of got written off basically,” Patel said of his Notts departure. “They thought I had to move on and I wasn’t ready to move on from Trent Bridge to he honest.

“And that is what I’m doing now in the Blast – showing people and trying to prove people wrong really.

“And the record speaks for itself. If we beat Notts I think they are out of the competition, so there is a lot of things on it.”

It was only two years ago that Patel’s propensity to excel in this very fixture for Notts was highlighted by the club.

His match-defining knocks as a “rip-roaring, chest-beating, heart-on-the sleeve Notts Outlaw”, external against Derbyshire were chronicled alongside his record against their fierce rivals – having amassed nearly 600 runs, and taken 30 wickets against them over two decades of T20 meetings.

“I do like a derby,” Patel said.

“I think that is what gets me going, to be honest, even if it’s Leicestershire. Whoever we play, I just thrive on it.

“I just enjoy the moments of being there at the end or doing something special and winning the game for your county.

“It’s one of those special occasions where I love it.”

And Friday night under the lights at Trent Bridge is where Patel freely admits he adores his cricket most.

It is where he grew into a Nottinghamshire legend.

“And now it’s in a Derby shirt that I’m trying to do the opposite, and trying to turn them over for the second time in a year,” Patel said.