INDIA’S AXMAN TURNED IT ON FIRST... AT DURHAM
SPINNER PATEL A HIT THREE YEARS BEFORE DEMOLISHING ENGLAND
There could not be a greater contrast from the extreme spin and dust of Ahmedabad than the green grass of Durham, but it was there Axar Patel left a lasting impression before becoming India’s overnight Test sensation.
Patel headed to county cricket’s most northerly outpost in 2018 when, in the words of their then coach Jon Lewis, he was ‘miles away from the India team’ and flourished with ball and bat in a brief spell as overseas player.
And the friends he made in his short time in the North east were delighted for Axar, now 27, when he was thrown in by India after they had lost the first Test against england and turned the tide with an extraordinary 18 wickets in two victorious games.
‘he was a real class act,’ Lewis told Sportsmail. ‘ We’ve seen plenty of world-class seamers go through Durham but not many world- class spinners. Axar was exceptional.
‘It must have been difficult for a young guy coming into county cricket where he had no real knowledge of what he was doing but he fitted into the dressing room amazingly quickly and struck up really good friendships with players.’ None more so than
Irish bowler Barry McCarthy. ‘They were the two most unlikely friends you could think of,’ said Lewis. ‘One was from Dublin and the other from Gujarat, but they struck up a really good rapport.
‘They were great value and Axar was very much a hands-on, get-stuck-in sort of guy. We really enjoyed having him.’
Durham originally wanted the all- rounder for that season’s Twenty20 Blast as he had drifted away from India’s white- ball team. It was not to be.
‘India wouldn’t allow that in the end but later that season we thought we’d get him in for some Championship games,’ said Lewis, now the Bangladesh batting coach.
‘It was a different way to try to win games because Durham didn’t usually go down the spin route but as soon as I saw him I thought, “Jeez, India must have some good players if this guy is nowhere near their team”.’
It was with the bat that Axar first impressed, making an unbeaten 95 against Glamorgan, before the highlight of his spell came at edgbaston when Durham found themselves up against Warwickshire and their outstanding spinner Jeetan Patel — now an england coach.
‘The quality of spin bowling in that game was the highest I’ve ever seen in Championship cricket,’ he said. ‘Jeetan was the best spinner in england for a long time, but Axar matched him and had a seven- wicket haul. he raised the standard for us.’
And the qualities that have bamboozled england in Chennai and Ahmedabad — brisk spin that slides on dangerously with his left-arm — were in evidence then.
‘I wouldn’t say Axar was the biggest spinner of the ball but he had great control and deception in pace and length. They were his real assets,’ said Lewis from Christchurch, where he is preparing with Bangladesh for their white-ball tour of New Zealand.
‘he might have been a bit lucky missing the first Test against england with a slight knee problem because that was on a fairly flat pitch. But since he came in, he’s been a revelation. You can say there was plenty of assistance for him in Chennai and Ahmedabad but you have to use it, and Axar used it brilliantly.’
Lewis added: ‘I can’t claim he learned how to take wickets like that at the riverside but we knew he was good, and it’s no surprise he’s done so well, so quickly in Test cricket.
‘ It’s just a shame it’s come against england.’