Jeetan Patel extends stay at Warwickshire

The 38-year-old had two spells with the Bears before signing as the club’s overseas player across all formats, on a full season contract in 2012.

The former New Zealand international has won all domestic silverware with Warwickshire and Birmingham Bears – including the County Championship in 2012, the T20 Blast in 2014 and the Royal London One-Day Cup in 2016 – and last year captained the club back to Division One of the County Championship at the first attempt by winning Division Two.

Jim Troughton, first-team coach at Warwickshire, said: “Jeetan is one of the most decorated overseas players in the history of the county game and his commitment to playing all formats, across a full season for such a long time is extremely rare in the modern game.

“He still consistently produces match-winning performances across all formats and has made a fantastic impression on the squad since being appointed captain.

“As we approach our first Championship game of 2019, it’s right that both the club and Jeetan have security over his future and have our captain signed beyond this season.”

Patel was appointed Warwickshire captain for the first class and list A cricket ahead of the 2018 season and was also appointed Birmingham Bears’ skipper for the 2019 Vitality Blast earlier this week.

To date he has taken 409 first-class wickets for Warwickshire and 112 list A wickets, while contributing 124 wickets for Birmingham Bears in T20.

Jeetan Patel said: “Being a Bear and part of this club is something that’s very special and I’m over the moon to sign this contract extension and to commit to the 2020 season.

“We made good progress last year in returning to Division One of the Championship as Division Two champions. However, we all want to build on this.

“I’ve been fortunate to be part of some fantastic teams and to have won all trophies during my time at Edgbaston. But this latest crop of players is equally hungry for success and to deliver more silverware to our supporters.”