Warwickshire captain Jeetan Patel to act as spin bowling consultant for England’s tour of New Zealand
- Jeetan Patel will have plenty of advice for spinners in his native New Zealand
- The 39-year-old will work with England for their five-match Twenty20 series
- Patel has mentored emerging talents Andrew Salter and Scott Borthwick
Warwickshire captain Jeetan Patel will act as England’s spin bowling consultant in his native New Zealand from next week.
The 39-year-old has been appointed for the five-match Twenty20 series versus the Black Caps starting in Christchurch on November 1.
Patel, who has mentored emerging spinners like Andrew Salter and Scott Borthwick in his homeland over past winters as part of ECB programmes, has been given dispensation to miss the first three matches of Wellington’s Plunket Shield season to take up the temporary post.
Jeetan Patel will serve as England’s spin bowling consultant for the five-game series
The off-spinner will begin work as soon as the first of two England travelling groups arrive across Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
He has been given the green light by New Zealand Cricket to enhance his coaching credentials as he approaches the final throes of his 20-year playing career.
As Sportsmail revealed last week, the relationship between the ECB and ex-Pakistan international Saqlain Mushtaq – whose most recent consultancy period spanned the Ashes – has come to an end.
Patel has previously helped menor players like Scott Borthwick as part of an ECB programme