Steve Patterson proves folly of Yorkshire CCC's decision to let him go

Just about everyone connected with the racism scandal, for example, seems to have been paid off whichever side of that travesty they are on - the complainant, the accused, the sacked, you name it, with costs now running well into seven figures.

Patel should apologise to sacked YCCC staff and then clear his desk – Chris Waters

“Roll up, roll up, free money on offer at Headingley” might just as well be the mantra of Lord Kamlesh Patel.

It was claimed earlier this year that the chairman is paying himself in the region of £200,000 as well, a figure that the club dismissed as “scuttlebutt”, an American term for rumours or gossip.

One can only hope that the rumours are untrue, for if Patel is paying himself that amount, then Patterson is worth ten times as much, along with a company car, free alcoholic drinks, a day off for his birthday and a 25 per cent discount at local restaurants.

And yet Yorkshire are letting him go at the end of the year to go with the raft of poor signings they have made throughout the season (by no means has the money been wasted solely off the field).

Last week, Patterson took 5-46 against Essex to almost snatch victory from the jaws of a one-wicket defeat. Yesterday, he was the only bowler - along with Ben Coad (2-30) - who looked like getting a wicket, taking 4-52 from 18 overs as Surrey reached 292-6 after they were sent into bat before bad light closed in at 4.45pm, with 22.4 overs left unbowled when the call-off came around an hour later.

Patterson is clearly knocking on now in a cricketing sense; in a couple of weeks’ time he will be 39, old enough to tell his young children, with wistful eyes, about red telephone boxes and the days before the internet and mobile phones.

But the only question that really matters is: can he still perform? On this evidence, and on the evidence of 487 first-class wickets at an average of 27.55, the answer is ‘yes’, and it smacks of yet another dubious decision by a club in disarray.

On a day when Ben Mike, the new signing from Leicestershire, suffered a disastrous debut, going at around seven-an-over for 0-86 including six no balls, Patterson showed the value of consistency and experience.

Against Essex, his victims included Sir Alastair Cook (twice), the greatest run-scorer in England’s Test history.

Here he added the scalps of Ollie Pope and Hashim Amla, two of the game’s finest, along with that of Ben Foakes, the England wicketkeeper. Only Jordan Thompson (42 at 33.04) has taken more wickets for Yorkshire in the Championship this year than Patterson (35 at 27.20).

It looked like being a good day for the visitors when they won the toss and chose to bowl, usually a favourable outcome in late September.

They struck early too, Coad finding Rory Burns’s outside edge with the first delivery of the fifth over on a hazy morning, the Surrey captain nicking to first slip.

Amla and Ryan Patel added 49, playing with great care and caution in challenging conditions, with only Mike’s first spell of 0-27 from four overs releasing the pressure.

But Patterson got the key wicket of Amla, who defended to third slip, and just when Surrey thought they had the better of the morning session, Coad induced Patel to edge its final ball to first slip, a soft shot in the circumstances - and Patel knew it.

By then, Pope had gone to 21 from as many balls, playing with great positivity and often advancing down the pitch to the quicker bowlers, and he continued in the same vein during an afternoon session in which he hit 101 from 103 deliveries.

Yorkshire were poor for large parts of it save for two wickets in three balls from Patterson which left Surrey 136-5, Foakes inside-edging a catch behind to end a stand of 54 with England’s Pope and then Cameron Steel giving Tom Kohler-Cadmore his third catch of the innings at first slip.

Mike was slightly worse in his second spell (0-28 from four overs with another three no balls) and the picture got no better for him in a post-tea burst of 0-31 from 4.2 overs.

Perhaps he was nervous on debut and trying too hard; he would hardly be the first to fall into that category, and you felt sorry for him by the finish.

Yorkshire never looked like getting Pope out until Patterson slipped one through his gate shortly after tea, the England man having struck 136 from 131 balls with 16 fours and two sixes.

Patterson’s intervention broke a sixth-wicket stand of 142 between Pope, who played with great aplomb, and Jordan Clark, who finished unbeaten on 55, and left one wondering how Yorkshire can possibly afford to let the old-stager go – unless, of course, Patel’s money tree has finally keeled over.