Black Caps history-maker Ajaz Patel: Family man from Mumbai wasn't always a spinner

Even before he set foot in Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the city where he was born, Ajaz Patel knew it would be an unforgettable experience.

“I think it's going to be a very, very special moment,” he said on Wednesday. “Something that I'm sure I'll look back on very fondly in the future.”

The 33-year-old had no idea this visit to the Indian city where he wedded would result in him going down in history, as the third cricketer to take all 10 wickets in a single test innings. He finished with the eye-popping figures of 10-119, which supplanted Sir Richard Hadlee’s famous 9-52 in a win over Australia in Brisbane in 1985 as the best by a New Zealander.

The cricketing knight was among those to offer his congratulations, messaging Patel on Saturday, then telling the world on Sunday: “It was a delight to watch”.

READ MORE:* Just who are Ajaz Patel's illustrious mates Jim Laker and Anil Kumble?* 'One of the greatest cricketing days of my life': Black Cap Ajaz Patel on stunning 10-wicket haul* Black Caps make lowest total since 2013, wasting Ajaz Patel's 10-wicket haul* Black Cap Ajaz Patel becomes third bowler in history of tests to take all 10 wickets

England’s Jim Laker took 10 against Australia in Manchester in 1956. India’s Anil Kumble joined him against Pakistan in Delhi in 1999. That made Patel the first bowler in the 144-year history of test cricket to take 10 in an innings away from home. Then again, Mumbai is his home, just as much as Auckland.

His family left for New Zealand in 1996 in search of a better lifestyle. They already had extended family here, many of whom were present in 2018 when Patel revealed his first Black Caps callup at the end of a dinner where the guests included wife Nilofer, parents Yunus and Shahnaz, younger sisters Sanaa and Tanzeel.

“I announced it to the family, and it was amazing, the whole house went ballistic, everyone started cheering and applauding,” he told Stuff at the time. “It was a madhouse for a minute, and I was worried the neighbours might complain.”

“We're a close-knit family and the amount of support I've had … I owe it to all of them, and it was nice to share it with them and see how pleased they were.”

When he returned from his first tour as an international cricketer at age 30, having helped the Black Caps to a 2-1 series win over Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates later that year, he was mobbed by two dozen family and friends at Auckland Airport. Playing all three tests, he took 13 wickets at an average of 29.61, including a five-wicket bag in a win on debut.

To get there, he had to go on two more journeys, neither as big as the one from Mumbai to Auckland.

The first was from seam bowler to spinner, a transformation that took place under the watchful eye of former New Zealand cricketer Dipak Patel.

“Initially, I was a left-arm seamer and played premiers and Auckland Under-19s as a fast bowler, then I decided that being 5 foot 6 wasn't quite going to cut it at the next level,” Patel said in 2018.

“I recall a game at Suburbs [New Lynn] where I opened the bowling, then ended up coming back and bowling spin. My spin ended up taking more wickets. It was something different, and I was apprehensive about whether I'd enjoy bowling spin, but I loved it, and it took off from there.”

Dipak Patel was among those to praise Ajaz Patel, telling Stuff on Saturday: “I’m lost for words. He’s worked so bloody hard over the years, I feel very proud of him.”

The second journey was from Auckland to Hawke’s Bay in 2012, where Patel joined the Taradale club, and began pursuing a domestic career with Central Districts.

While in Hawke’s Bay, he left an impression on Sean Davies, a coach at Taradale, who saw less and less of him as he established himself with the Stags, but was never given any reason to think less of him.

“His attitude towards club cricket is of a similar standard to how he conducts himself in the first-class game. He's incredibly professional,” Davies told Stuff in 2018.

“Often you can see a first-class cricketer, when they come back to club level, the effort's not necessarily as good as it could be, but he's the polar opposite. He's a fantastic professional, in every sense.”

For three straight seasons, from 2015 to 2018, Patel was the leading wicket-taker for the Stags in the Plunket Shield first-class competition, a run that culminated in him taking 48 wickets at 21.52 during the Stags' charge to the 2017-18 title.

Heinrich Malan came in as the Stags’ coach in 2013, when Patel was far from a regular in the team, in any format. Over the next six summers, they worked closely together, turning him into a bowler who could take wickets regardless of the conditions, which was important in New Zealand, where pitches don’t tend to offer a lot for spinners, especially before Christmas.

“When it happened, I just screenshotted the TV where it said 10 for 100 or whatever and said when we started this journey almost eight years ago, who would have thought that you would go back home to where you were born and this is what would happen?,” Malan told Stuff on Sunday.

“I saw that picture that the BC guys put up with him standing at the honours board and to get your name on that honours board is obviously one of the things that dreams are made of.

“I'm really excited and very happy that Ajaz, after the hard work and the persistence over a long period of time, gets the accolades in a huge way now and the cricketing world gets a bit of a glimpse around how good he actually is.”

Patel doesn’t have a Black Caps contract and there’s every chance he won’t play during the home summer, where there are four tests scheduled, two against Bangladesh and two against South Africa, and green, seam-friendly pitches are set to be in use, leaving little work for a specialist spinner.

He’s stuck down the pecking order in white-ball cricket too, so he might have to wait his turn, but he’ll be eyeing the away series against Pakistan late next year, if nothing else.

What he does have is that place on that honours board at Wankhede Stadium, a venue he’d attended many times as a fan, but never as a player, and a special place in history, even if the Black Caps appear headed for a loss, after collapsing for 62 in their first turn at bat.

“Obviously it’s a special day for me, but I think it’s a special day for all of New Zealand,” Patel said in a video provided by NZ Cricket.

“To have a New Zealand bowler up there and to achieve something like that, it’s very special for me.”

Ajaz Patel’s place in history Best test bowling figures

10-53: Jim Laker for England v Australia; Manchester, 1956

10-74: Anil Kumble for India v Pakistan; Delhi, 1999

10-119: Ajaz Patel for New Zealand v India; Mumbai, 2021

New Zealad’s best test bowling figures

10-119: Ajaz Patel v India; Mumbai, 2021

9-52: Sir Richard Hadlee v Australia; Brisbane, 1985

7-23: Sir Richard Hadlee v India; Wellington, 1976