The Club Cricket Conference Yearbook 2020

- 30 - Q & A with Min Patel By Gulfraz Riaz Q - You have a long association with the CCC as a player and then as the coach. How did that develop? Min - My involvement with the CCC began with an invitation by Max Hall to join the CCC 2001 tour to Australia as a player coach. It was a fantastic 30 day tour playing around the Adelaide and Sydney regions and at the time I was still playing for Kent CCC. In 2008 during the backend of my career I went on the return to Australia again, and it was at this time Alf Langley, who had just taken over as the CCC Chairman, wanted me to have a greater involvement with the CCC moving forward. He wanted to reshape the elite playing programme and he shared the same vision in finding a credible place for the elite playing programme for the Conference that sat somewhere near the top end of amateur game and just below the professional set ups. Q - Having been a one County man, what have you been up to with Kent CCC since you retired and what is your current role? Min - My playing days with Kent CCC ended in 2008/2009 due to injury and I decided initially to take a break from cricket having been involved in the game for the best part of 23 years. I then started to coach but not at the elite level as such, for example running u8 Easter classes and working with James Treadwell at Kent CCC. I started by coaching across all levels. Overall I worked across a broad spectrum of the game and did that for several years. At this stage the highlight was becoming the coach of the CCC and working with the best amateur cricketers in the South of England, with the added bonus of touring annually with them. I also tried to understand and help some of these players who had aspirations to become professional cricketers in terms of learning about professional cricket and potentially give them a platform and opportunities to showcase their skills against County 2nd XIs. The CCC ended up playing against 2nd XIs from Kent CCC, Middlesex CCC, Surrey CCC and Essex CCC, showcasing the elite club cricketer. After doing this for a number of years Kent CCC offered me the opportunity to become their 2nd XI coach 4 years ago, which offered grounding and stability which you get working for a professional set up that you do not get when working as a self-employed coach. It was also really lovely to be involved again with my County. This role has now evolved into the Head of Talent Pathway for Kent CCC which basically means overseeing the whole structure :our pathway from u13 level through to academy level and beyond. Also over the last two years I have been coaching the England u19s as their spin coach, a role that I have thoroughly enjoyed as it means that for