LONDON: Samit Patel said being overlooked by England "hurt" after doing his best to jog the collective memory of the selectors by starring for Nottinghamshire as they won the domestic Twenty20 Blast title on Saturday.
Patel, whose last England involvement came during the tour of South Africa nearly two years ago, hit an unbeaten 64 as Nottinghamshire beat Warwickshire by 22 runs in the final at Edgbaston on Saturday.
Patel's innings was timely given he walked out to bat with Nottinghamshire struggling at 30 for three at Midlands rivals Warwickshire's Edgbaston ground.
But Patel's 42-ball knock helped turned the tide as he and former Zimbabwe batsman Brendan Taylor shared a 132-run partnership.
Earlier in the day, spin bowler Patel had claimed the key wicket of Pakistan star Shahid Afridi for a duck in a semi-final win over Hampshire.
Patel, often overlooked by England for reasons of fitness more than anything else, feels hard done by in being restricted to six Tests, 36 one-day international and 18 Twenty20 internationals since making his first England appearance in 2008.
But having now helped Nottinghamshire to a domestic one-day double - they beat Surrey in the 50-over Cup final at Lord's earlier this season - the 32-year-old Patel said he was still available for England selection.
"I'd be disappointed if they (the England selectors) didn't watch that.
"Playing for England is the utmost best for me. I love playing for England. Every time I put on an England shirt I don't think that I've let them down.
"You always put yourself out there. You've got to be the right man to do it on the day and luckily enough for me it was. I think class will always show regardless of what the situation is."
He added being overlooked by England in the limited-overs formats had been especially disappointing, particularly as, like many players before him, he felt he was now a much better cricketer than when he last represented his country.
"Yeah it has hurt, especially in the white-ball format," he said. "I'm an ambitious player.
"You shouldn't play for Notts if you don't want to play for England in my opinion. Putting on that shirt, it means everything to me.
"Don't even count me out of Test cricket to be honest. I think I know my game much better now. I'm ready, I know I'm ready if they ring me, that's for sure. I'm a different player.
"They haven't spoken to me since the South Africa trip that I went on and didn't play. I have thought about picking up the phone but there's only one winner there and it won't go down well if I pick up the phone."