Dipak Patel: The spinner trusted with new ball in World Cup 1992

Dipak Patel, born on October 8, 1958, was an off-spinning all-rounder who made a name for himself in the 1992 World Cup by opening the bowling. Nishad Pai Vaidya looks at the career of a journeyman cricketer.

Dipak Patel © Getty Images

Dipak Patel, born October 25, 1958, was an off-spinning all-rounder who made a name for himself in the 1992 World Cup by opening the bowling. Nishad Pai Vaidya looks at the career of a journeyman cricketer.

If cricket fans are asked about Dipak Patel, they would instantly think about the 1992 World Cup — when the world saw the off-spinning all-rounder open the bowling. However, he has been a journeyman cricketer of sorts as he was born in Kenya, played for Worcestershire in England before moving to New Zealand to play at the highest level. It was an interesting career that saw him record a few memorable moments at the highest level.

Born in Nairobi, Kenya on October 25, 1958, Patel first played for Worcestershire Second XIs in 1975. He made his First-Class debut for Worcestershire in 1976 during a game against Warwickshire. The same year, he recorded his maiden First-Class ton against Oxford University. After playing almost ten seasons at Worcestershire, Patel decided to move to New Zealand. He was fairly successful for Worcestershire and was a regular in their line-up. From 1976 to 1985, he had scored 14 First-Class tons and was also making his mark as a bowler in the 1980s. However, on debut in the Plunket Shield in New Zealand, he smashed 174 and also picked up a four-wicket haul for Auckland.

The year 1986 was the turning point of Patel’s career. He did extremely well for Worcestershire by scoring 1,005 runs in 24 matches at an average of 47.85 with three tons and two fifties. He also picked up 30 wickets at 41.83. Later that year in New Zealand, he scored 796 runs in 11 matches at an average of 41.89 with three centuries. On the bowling front, he took 13 wickets at 28.07.  That helped him get selected for New Zealand in early 1987 and he made his Test debut against West Indies at Wellington in February that year. A month down the line, he also donned the One-Day International (ODI) cap.

Patel batted in the middle order and also rolled his off-spinners. He was a part of the New Zealand squad for the 1987 World Cup for New Zealand and made an impression with a spell of 3 for 36 against India at Bangalore. Later in the same tournament, he scored 40 against India at Nagpur to make a mark as a batsman. When New Zealand faced their trans-Tasman rivals on their own turf, Patel recorded his first Test fifty against them at Brisbane.

While Patel featured quite regularly in ODIs, he wasn’t a part of the Test side after the Australia series. He then played a Test only in 1990. In 1988, he recorded his best spell during the Sharjah Cup when he picked 3 for 22 against Sri Lanka at help New Zealand record a victory. Patel made his comeback to Test cricket during the tour to Pakistan in 1990, but he wasn’t very successful. It was only in 1992 that he truly made an impression. Coming into the squad at the back of a good all-round performance during the domestic season, Patel hit his highest Test score of 99 against England at Christchurch. He was tragically run-out one short of the mark.

Dipak Patel took 75 wickets in 37 Tests and 45 wickets in 75 ODIs © Getty Images

A few months down the line, Patel carved his niche, with a little help from skipper Martin Crowe of course. Patel was surprisingly handed the new ball during the first game of the 1992 World Cup at Auckland. The co-hosts Australia were quite surprised and Patel finished with 1 for 36 as Australia lost the game by 37 runs. It was a unique tactic as his off-spinners up-front were supported by Dibbly-Dobbly-Wibbly-Wobbly or the ‘battery’ comprising Gavin Larsen, Chris Harris, Rod Latham and Willie Watson.

Patel made a crucial mark upfront and it was one of the reasons for New Zealand’s qualification to the semi-final of the World Cup. Even the Indians, who are good players of spin, did not know how to deal with the off-spinning new ball. He picked up 2 for 29 against them dismissing Kris Srikkanth and Mohammad Azharuddin. England were also flummoxed as he finished with 2 for 26. Nobody knew how to tackle this phenomenon. Today, it is a common tactic in T20 cricket, but that wasn’t the case in 1992. An innovation had taken birth.

Later in 1992, Patel picked up his first fifer in Test cricket against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo (6 for 113). In the second Test, Zimbabwe were chasing 315 in the final innings and Patel’s spell of 6 for 50 bowled them out for 137. In 1993, when New Zealand beat Australia at Auckland, he took 5 for 93 while opening the bowling in the second innings. By now, he was well settled in the New Zealand line-up.

Patel then had a few highlights in the next few years. In 1996, on the tour to the West Indies, he recorded his best ODI score of 71. Batting at number nine in a Test match, he also hit 79 against a good attack. He featured in the 1996 World Cup and finished his Test career in1997 when Sri Lanka toured New Zealand.  The Pepsi Independence Cup in India was his last.

It was quite a ‘different’ career one would say. After his international days, he only featured in three more games in the 1990s. One of them was an invitational affair between his XI against an Indian XI. Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar lit up the stage with tons. Patel, then moved away from the sport in 1999 after a few Masters games.

Patel’s record in International cricket:

(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and anchor for the site’s YouTube Channel. His Twitter handle is @nishad_44)

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