Patel spoke to BBC WM’s Mike Taylor following Tuesday’s defeat against Middlesex at Lord’s and saw a never say die attitude during and after the game.
Jeetan Patel is proud of the strong mindset within the Bears ranks.
Warwickshire fell to an agonising 18 run defeat against Middlesex at Lord’s with the home side bowling excellently on a gripping day three.
The captain admitted there was a ‘sombre’ feeling post-match, but it wasn’t a mood that the Bears have felt many times in the County Championship this season.
“It’s never enough for us and that’s the attitude we’ve got. We’re always striving to get that 1%, 2% better and there’s some things, even from this game, that we can take into the Vitality Blast.
Jeetan Patel
Warwickshire still hold their own destiny with six games left to play and currently sit top with a cushion of 13 points from Kent in third place.
Patel’s side have won five, drew one and lost two and the players will take a lot of posities from their strong start, especially with both defeats against Kent and Middlesex showing the true exciting nature of four-day cricket.
“I think we’re playing some really good cricket,” said Patel who bowled match figures of 36-12-81-6.
“It was a shame today we didn’t get over the line, but we can’t take away how they bowled. They ask a lot of tough questions all the time and those two wickets before lunch we were they probably got ahead of the game.
“If we’re being honest with ourselves it’s probably a game of missed opportunities.
“We had one guy make a 100 (Rhodes), no other guys get more than 50, that first innings 70 for 7 and they end up 230, it’s just like I said – a missed opportunity.
“Could we have nailed them? Probably, yes. Was it through lack of effort? Certainly not.
“I think the guys applied themselves pretty well, chasing 200 on a good wicket they bowled really well, but I thought we probably let ourselves down with not being able to build partnerships or someone really staying in and getting on. That’s on all of us.
“The two guys (Wright and Sidebottom) at the end there probably showed the ticker in the squad that will never say die and really want to push for a result for Warwickshire, which is pleasing to see.”
Warwickshire were thrust in County Championship action after breaking a world record and showcasing one of the best ever T20 fixtures.
Friday night’s Vitality Blast draw with Northamptonshire Steelbacks saw a gripping contest that included 462 runs and a world record T20 third-wicket stand of 171 from 85 balls between Ian Bell and Adam Hose.
Exciting, yes, but it didn’t give the Bears much time to reacclimatise.
“You’re chopping from one format to the next and you know I’m not a fan of playing this one-off game in the middle of the Vitality Blast,” Patel told BBC WM’s Mike Taylor.
“However, if you look at the Test fixtures there’s Test matches about to start and they probably want to get guys playing, some form under the Test guys belts, I understand that.”
Warwickshire now head into another mini-break as the Birmingham Bears fulfil their schedule with seven more games, which includes five matches in 13 days.
The four-day calendar will then see out the season with fixtures restarting on Sunday 19th August and then every week up until the week commencing Monday 24th September.
“That’s the thing with county cricket you never stop,” the 38-year-old concluded.
“Even when you think you’re done there’s one more thing to do.
“It’s never enough for us and that’s the attitude we’ve got. We’re always striving to get that 1%, 2% better and there’s some things, even from this game, that we can take into the T20. There’s a lot of heart and a lot of desire to get us into a winning position.”
