Patel keeps his eyes on the prize

Samit Patel celebrates reaching his fine century against Surrey last week

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Samit Patel has enjoyed a stellar season but he will not be completely satisfied until the LV County Championship Division One crown is resting in the Trent Bridge trophy cabinet.

The 23-year-old has experienced a rollercoaster summer - a man of the match performance in the one-dayer at the Brit Oval against South Africa was soon followed by painful defeat to Sussex in a thrilling NatWest Pro40 finale - and the all-rounder is determined to conclude the year on a high.

Having lost to Murray Goodwin's last ball six when the trophy was seemingly there for the taking, Nottinghamshire can rescue their season by winning the championship if they beat Hampshire in a game which starts tomorrow.

"We were hurt by losing the Pro40," Patel told ecb.co.uk. "We had that taken away from us. We should be looking at having two trophies in the cabinet. But to win the title would finish a great year for me and the team."

A wounded Nottinghamshire took their anger out on Surrey last week, battering them into submission within three days. Patel inflicted the most vicious punishment, pummelling the Surrey bowlers all over the sun-drenched Brit Oval as he cruised to a sparkling 135 off just 121 balls which included six maximums.

Even Shoaib Akhtar, the world's fastest bowler, could not escape Patel's blade, the batsman smashing him for consecutive boundaries to bring up his century.

"I looked to dominate," said Patel. "I have been hitting the ball pretty well all season but have not converted as many scores into hundreds as I should have.

"You never know what to expect from Shoaib. You just have to watch the ball which is what we did. To get to the hundred off him was nice."

Darren Pattinson is congratulated after dismissing Scott Newman in Nottinghamshire's innings and 143 run victory

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Mark Wagh also hit a ton as Nottinghamshire rattled up 532 before the visitors fired out Surrey for just 39.1 overs to win by an innings and 143 runs.

"It was a pretty good performance," he added. "We did not put any extra pressure on ourselves going into the game. We knew if we played to our potential we would win as we have a better side than Surrey. We wanted to take control and if you bat once in a game you will probably win.

"To bowl Surrey out twice on a flat wicket was a great achievement. Credit to the bowlers yet again. They have been great this year, especially as we have been without Sid [Ryan Sidebottom] and Broady [Stuart Broad]. We have the best bowling attack in the country and that's one of the reasons we are up there."

To make the victory all the more sweet, Nottinghamshire's main rivals for the title, Somerset and Durham, could only draw their games meaning Patel's side take an eight point advantage into the final match of the season.

"We knew then we were in a tremendous position," said Patel. "We knew we would have a big lead going into the last game. I'm sure that a good performance in the first innings with bat and ball will win the title.

"We are optimistic. We will look to take control from day one. Hampshire have a good side, with the likes of Chris Tremlett and Dimitri Mascarenhas, but we are focused."