Samit Patel hungry to lose weight

Samit Patel, the allrounder discarded by England's selectors for being unfit more than seven months ago, has set himself a target of returning next county season a trimmer man.

"I've got to come back with a totally different body shape," he told the Times. "I want to look like a different cricketer next season. People are going to judge me on how I look. It's not a nice way to be judged, but it's about time I put in some hard graft in the gym. It's got to be done."

Patel, who burst onto the international scene late last season with some impressive displays against South Africa, was dumped from the one-day squad to tour West Indies for failing to reach a suitable level of fitness. He was told in no uncertain terms that improvements were needed if he wanted his England place back. Patel has not been in contact with the ECB for some time but will meet with Hugh Morris, the managing director, to discuss his future this week.

"The communication from the ECB wasn't good, but I don't want to get into the nitty-gritty of that," he said. "It hurt, but I can't blame anyone but myself. I'm going to come back strongly and prove a few people wrong.

"I probably have to do more fitness work than most with my body shape, but I haven't done that in the past. I'd try to sack it off, do short sessions and cheat here and there. I could hide behind my cricket skills, but I can't do that any more. Now I'm getting to a different level on the treadmill and thinking, 'I wouldn't have done this before.' It's a big part of my life now. I watch [Nottingham] Forest, see the missus and go to the gym, that's about it."

Since the harsh reality hit home, Patel, 24, has been working hard to reach the required levels both with the England Lions and with Nottinghamshire. He was desperate to learn from the tough experience and come back a better player.

"It hurts not to be involved in South Africa at the moment and the Lions has to be my way back in," he said. "If I'm not one of the 15 best cricketers in England after the senior team, then I think there's something wrong. I don't think they want to pick me, but I'm desperate to be part of it again."

Patel has received the support of Mick Newell, his county coach, who saw at first hand a player working flat out to earn a second chance. "It did affect his game, there was quite a bit of turmoil in his head," said Newell. "He was feeling angry towards a lot of people, instead of directing that towards himself. Now he's just got to knuckle down and do some things he'd rather not be doing on cold, dark days in the middle of winter."