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Rashid in to fit the bill for one-day campaign
Port-of-Spain YORKSHIRE'S rising all-rounder Adil Rashid will be extending his stay in the Caribbean after receiving an unexpected call-up into England's one-day squad.
It came when Samit Patel was axed from the squad for the limited-overs series due to an unacceptable level of fitness.
Nottinghamshire all-rounder Patel was due to arrive in Trinidad next week ahead of a Twenty20 contest and five one-day internationals but will remain with England Lions in New Zealand, and has been replaced by Rashid.
Twenty-four-year-old Patel had been given numerous warnings about his physical condition and has paid the price for showing a deterioration since the pre-Christmas tour of India.
David Parsons, fronting the tour of New Zealand, and national selector Geoff Miller informed Patel of his fate.
The decision provides another deserved break for Bradford-born Rashid, who is on his first full senior tour, having been called up for the Test series
primarily on the strength of his leg-spin bowling.
The 21-year-old, who joined the Test squad in India as cover just prior to Christmas, following the cancellation of that England Lions tour, was comfortably the most successful spinner in English cricket last summer with 65 first-class wickets at 31.83.
"I definitely see myself as a genuine all-rounder, " says Rashid, who bats in the lower middle-order for Yorkshire and who could now stake a claim for a similar role in the one-dayers against the West Indies.
Regarding Patel, England Cricket managing director Hugh Morris said: "It has been a concern for some time and at the end of the Indian series it was made clear to him by a number of different people – Peter Moores and Kevin Pietersen originally and more recently Geoff Miller – an improvement was required.
"Samit was given a programme, he's had two fitness tests since and the results of those fitness tests have not been satisfactory.
"The latest one was in New Zealand a couple of days ago and the decision has been taken to keep him there rather than bring him over here.
"Samit is a talented cricketer but he, like every other player who joins the senior England team, must be aware of the strict fitness criteria that will be set.
"It is extremely frustrating that Samit has not heeded the warnings. In the circumstances, we had no option but to de-select him from the tour."
Patel made a stirring start to his international career last summer and was included in the XI for the Stanford 20:20 for 20 on November 1 due to his initial impact.
However, Miller said: "The demands of international cricket are huge and Samit must recognise that fitness levels are a vital part of a successful team in international cricket.
"He really needs to understand and grasp that fact because his fitness levels have regressed between his first assessment during the build-up to the England Lions tour and the second Test during the first week in New Zealand."
Nottinghamshire coach Mick Newell, who has seen Patel's development at Trent Bridge since he was a teenager, added: "We will work with Samit to help him to achieve his fitness targets but it is important that he takes responsibility for his own training to address the concerns raised by the ECB.
"Samit is a player of unquestionable talent and it is important that he applies himself to realise every ounce of his potential."
Patel's Nottinghamshire colleague Graeme Swann will, as was expected, miss the one-day series to undergo elbow surgery and will be replaced in the party by Worcestershire's Gareth Batty.
Swann said: "I have realised for some time that I would need surgery on the injury.
"We have managed it during the tour but the medical team believe this is the best time for the operation."
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Weather for Yorkshire
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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