Despite his county furnishing him with free gym membership, Samit Patel has missed out on his second sucessive England selection for reasons of fitness.
The “bouncing all-rounder from Nottinghamshire”, as the Independent describes him today, has again failed to meet the ECB’s standards. Geoff Miller has said that there are “various measurements we go by”, and less charitable souls may wish to speculate as to whether waist, chest and pie consumption are some of the measurements involved.
On a serious note, Patel’s inability to attain the standards that the rest of the World Twenty20 squad has met may suggest a problem. Either there is some obstacle preventing him from reaching the required level of fitness, or his commitment to international cricket isn’t as strong as it might be. Neither is a particularly encouraging prospect.
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