Monty Panesar

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Monty Panesar
England
Personal information
Full name	Mudhsuden Singh Panesar
Nickname	Monty
Born	25 April 1982 (1982-04-25)
	Luton, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Role	Bowler
Batting style	Left-handed
Bowling style	Slow left arm orthodox
International information
Test debut ( cap 631)	1 March 2006: v India
Last Test	18 December 2007: v  Sri Lanka
ODI debut ( cap 200)	12 January 2007: v Australia
Last ODI	13 October 2007: v  Sri Lanka
ODI shirt no.	46
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2001–present	Northamptonshire
Career statistics
	Tests	ODIs	FC	LA
Matches	23	26	65	38
Runs scored	128	26	460	76
Batting average	7.11	5.20	8.51	9.50
100s/50s	0/0	0/0	0/0	0/0
Top score	26	13	39*	16*
Balls bowled	5403	1308	15199	1842
Wickets	81	24	250	37
Bowling average	32.76	40.83	29.23	36.45
5 wickets in innings	6	0	16	1
10 wickets in match	1	n/a	3	n/a
Best bowling	6/129	3/25	7/181	5/20
Catches/ stumpings	4/–	3/–	16/–	7/–
As of 14 October 2007 Source: cricketarchive.com

Monty Panesar (born Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, 25 April 1982 in Luton, Bedfordshire), is an English cricketer. A left-arm spinner with a classical action, Panesar plays Test and ODI cricket for England, and county cricket for Northamptonshire. He is the 631st capped player for England, with the number 46 on his ODI shirt.

Born to Indian Punjabi parents, he is the first Sikh to represent a nation other than India in Test cricket. Panesar sports a trademark black patka (a smaller version of the full Sikh turban) while playing and in cricket training. He is a crowd favourite in England, and many fans have worn patkas and fake beards while watching Panesar play.

Despite his embryonic international career Panesar often receives loud cheers whenever he comes on to bat or bowl and when he fields the ball, the latter due to Panesar's history of less than skilful fielding. When first selected for England he was widely said to be a particularly inept batsman and fielder, which may have contributed to this reception; the TMS commentator Henry Blofeld once accidentally referred to him as Monty Python, a mistake possibly encouraged by his comic reputation. However in more recent matches he has lived down these claims, and gained further popularity with his characteristic wicket-taking celebration, which consists of him gambolling down the pitch and high fiveing his team-mates.

Personal life

Panesar, a devout Sikh, has a large supportive family both in England and Punjab, his parents having migrated to England from India in the late 1970s. His father, Paramjeet Singh Panesar, who moved to England in 1979, is a builder. His mother is Gursharan Kaur. Panesar has a younger brother, Isher Singh Panesar, and sister, Charanjit Kaur Panesar. His family lives in Luton. Panesar is a devoted Luton Town fan.

Panesar has been quoted as saying, “I follow Sikhism, and maybe I’ve channelled the discipline that religion creates into my cricket. There’s discipline with any religion, and you can take it into a game or into anything else." (The Sunday Times, August 06, 2006). Away from cricket, he has a degree in computer science. Panesar has uncut hair and a full length beard, which is a fundamental part of the Sikh identity and way of life. He won the 2006 Beard of the Year competition run by the Beard Liberation Front.

Nicknames for Panesar include "The Montster", "The Python" (a reference to Monty Python), The "Sikh of Tweak" (probably a humorous reference to Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne's ( though mispronounced) sobriquet, 'The Sheik of Tweak)', "Montastic", "Parmesan Tony" (an anagram), "The Beard to be Feared", or most popular "The Turbanator" (though this can also refer to Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh).

Cricketing ability

Panesar is regarded as a bright prospect by some commentators including Geoffrey Boycott and most of the TMS team, and has been singled out for high praise by some. Noteworthy praise came from former England head coach Duncan Fletcher, who, although initially reluctant to single out Panesar, described him as "the best finger spinner in the world".

He was selected as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in the 2007 edition.

Work ethic

Panesar loves training and is becoming renowned for being a fastidious worker, regularly leaving the practice ground after everyone else. According to reports, one day Monty and Australia's Mike Hussey spent a whole day in the nets, which shows remarkable determaination for a bowler. According to Andrew Strauss, who has captained him in four Tests, Panesar "will be on the ground earlier than anyone, getting (ex-assistant coach) Matthew Maynard to hit catches to him. He will then bowl through most of the net session, before staying out long after most of the guys are back in the comfort of the dressing room, working on his batting, learning new shots, and perfecting those he already has."

Bowling

Panesar bowls in the nets at Adelaide Oval

Monty has certain physical attributes that help with his spin bowling. Firstly he has an unusually large hand, measuring 10 inches, and can also rotate his hand at his wrist through 360 degrees.

Panesar's current bowling average, which hovers at 28.40, compares reasonably favourably with the more established finger-spinners such as Harbhajan Singh and Daniel Vettori. Panesar demonstrated his ability to take Test wickets in his first match in Nagpur, India, where his first Test wicket was that of the highly respected Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar. He also bowled batsmen Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif. In the 2006 Test Series against Sri Lanka, Panesar claimed his first five-wicket haul for 78 runs, in the third Test at Trent Bridge. Monty went on to take 5 for 92 and 3 for 145 in the 3rd test match in Australia, in December 2006, despite England losing the match.

In an interview with the UK newspaper Daily Mirror, Panesar stated his intention to develop a left-handed version of the doosra, the off-spinner's version of the googly:

On 11 June 2007, Monty became the first English spinner to take 10 wickets in a match since Phil Tufnell when he returned match figures of 10/187. This was achieved against the West Indies in the Third Test at Old Trafford.

Batting

Panesar has shown signs of potential but is not yet a confident batsman, averaging about seven runs per innings. His best international innings was against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge in 2006, when Panesar scored 26 off 28 balls by employing the sweep shot, including a swept six off Muttiah Muralitharan albeit in a losing cause. In the 2006 Perth, Ashes Test Match, Panesar scored an unbeaten 16 runs, putting on the biggest partnership of the innings with fellow bowler Steve Harmison.

Fielding

Panesar's fielding has been the subject of much discussion. Former England coach Duncan Fletcher had previously gone so far as to suggest that this could keep him out of the side if it does not improve. At the start of his Test career, this led to loud sardonic cheers from the crowd for completing even the simplest fielding tasks. Many commentators believe that his fielding has since improved somewhat; he held an impressive catch in England's third Test match against Pakistan at Headingley in 2006.

Concerns over his fielding was shown in the third test match against India when a ball was hit towards him at long-off. He seemed to lose the ball in the background and the ball landed five yards away from him, when it should have been an easy catch. He did however make up for that error when he caught one a few minutes later at long-off. In the season of 2006 (after the first test at Lord's against Pakistan) it was discovered that Panesar required a different type of contact lenses to the ones that he had been wearing previously, it is unknown whether these helped his fielding, despite his remarkable improvement.

Early domestic career

Originally a medium-pace bowler, he shifted to spin at around sixteen following advice from Northamptonshire. Panesar played cricket at Bedford Modern School for Stopsley High School and then Dunstable Town CC, before being selected for the England Under-19 team. His first-class debut came in 2001 at the age of 19. His appearances over the next few years were limited, partly because of his commitment as a full-time student at Loughborough University. After graduating, he became a more important member of the team and had a fine season in 2005, taking 46 County Championship wickets at an average of just 21.54.

International career

Test selection

Due to his performances in 2005, many prominent figures called for Panesar's inclusion in the English Test squad for the 2006 tour of India. For a place as back-up spinner to incumbent Ashley Giles he faced competition from left-armer Ian Blackwell and off-spinners Shaun Udal and Alex Loudon. It was suggested that his reputation for poor batting and fielding might hamper his chances of selection, but earlier in 2005 he had attended the Darren Lehmann Academy in Adelaide in order to address these issues. He was selected in January 2006 for the tour to India, and made his international debut in the first Test against India in Nagpur. He took three wickets, including India's ex and current captains, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. The former, who Panesar states was his childhood hero and was the spinner's first international Test wicket, later signed the cricket ball that dismissed him and presented it to Panesar. Panesar went on to play in the second and third Test matches, in Mohali and Mumbai with thirty-five of his family members attending the Test at Mohali, Punjab.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan in England, 2006

On 11 May 2006 Panesar made his maiden Test appearance in England against Sri Lanka at Lord's. He played a small role in the first and second Tests, taking only five wickets. He was to fare better in the third by claiming his first five wicket haul with bowling figures of 5/78. He followed this up with an explosive innings of 26 from 28 balls that included a 6 and put on 37 for the final wicket with Liam Plunkett. This was not enough to affect the result as Sri Lanka won the Test by 134 runs.

Panesar took three wickets in the first innings of the Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford, Manchester, on 27 June 2006. His wicket-taking was overshadowed by Steve Harmison who took a six wicket haul to get Pakistan all out for 119 in the 1st innings. However, Panesar took 5-72 in the second innings, and Harmison 5-57. The pair took 19 of the 20 Pakistani wickets in the match (the other being a run out) in an innings-and-120-run victory. This was the first time two bowlers had taken all bowling wickets since Jim Laker's record match figures of 19 for 90 again at Old Trafford. In the second innings Panesar took the wickets of five of the six specialist batsmen, including Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf.

In the first innings at Headingley, Panesar picked up three wickets including that of Inzamam-ul-Haq, who overbalanced and dislodged the bails with his stomach. In the second innings Panesar had figures of 3 for 39. Panesar was given some credit for responding to criticism from England coach Duncan Fletcher. Despite his performances in the Test arena against Pakistan in the summer of 2006, Panesar was overlooked for the 30 man ODI squad for the 2006 ICC Champion's Trophy in India.

England in Australia, 2006–7

Panesar bowls in The Ashes series as Flintoff watches

The likelihood of Panesar playing against Australia in the 2006-07 Ashes series led to media commentary by some Australian players, who indicated that they would take an aggressive approach towards him. Australian captain Ricky Ponting said, "We'll try to make some sort of impact on him early on, and we won't let him get on top. The way our left-handers, especially Justin Langer and Matty Hayden, play spin is to be fairly aggressive." However, he was also praised by Ponting. Ponting told the Sunday Age, "He (Panesar) didn't look like he was scared to throw the ball up a little bit and actually try and get you out. He's got good, subtle changes of pace and, watching the other night (against Pakistan), a really good arm ball as well."

Darren Lehmann said "He's probably a more attacking bowler than Giles was, and a wicket-taking option for them, more so than Giles was." Also stating on the possibility of Australian crowds targeting Panesar because of his poor fielding and batting, Lehmann stuck up for Panesar saying ."He should have no worries at all... He's a beautiful lad."

It also emerged that Panesar had been seeing a sports psychologist and talking to former England left-arm spinner Phil Tufnell, another English spinner who was poor at fielding, about the ribbing he is expecting to get from the Aussie crowds on the tour, and how to prepare himself mentally for the task.

Panesar was left out of the England team for the first two tests of the series, which led to a petition being started by BBC Radio Five Live, calling out for his inclusion. Panesar was eventually selected to play in the third test at the WACA in Perth. He finished the first innings with figures of 5 for 92 off 24 overs, with Justin Langer, Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist among his wickets, becoming the first English spin bowler to take five wickets in a test match at the WACA in Perth, his other two wickets being Shane Warne and Brett Lee. He also performed respectably with the bat, finishing on 16 not out as part of England's best partnership in the innings.

During the Tests Panesar played, he quickly became a crowd favourite for both Australian and English fans, eliciting cheers from the crowd when fielding, bowling or batting.

He remained in the team for the rest of the series, finishing with a record of 10 wickets at an average of 37.90 and collecting a total of 35 runs. He was the joint third highest wicket taker for England behind Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff, tying with Steve Harmison, having only played in three out of the five tests.

After the Ashes series, Panesar was selected in the England squad for the Commonwealth Bank series with Australia and New Zealand.

Panesar's attacking bowling style worked well, bowling economically and aggressively in equal parts. He made his debut against Australia at Melbourne on 12th January 2007 and played in nine matches in the series, taking nine wickets and conceding just 4.6 runs per over.

World Cup 2007

Following his impressive performances in the Ashes and Commonwealth Bank series Panesar was selected in England's World Cup squad. He struggled to pick up wickets, taking only 7 wickets at an average of 40.42. His best performance came on 11 April 2007 in a Super Eight's group game against Bangladesh where he took 3/25 off his seven overs which included two maidens.

West Indies in England, 2007

Panesar's first six wicket haul came in the first Innings of the first Test against the West Indies at Lord's on May 19 to May 20, 2007 when he took 6-129. Five of his six victims were trapped LBW, all given out by the Nursery End umpire Asad Rauf.

Panesar's first 10-wicket haul came in the third Test at Old Trafford, in which he took four 1st innings wickets, and six in the 2nd innings, for match figures of 10 for 187. Panesar became the first English spin bowler to take ten wickets in a match for ten years, Phil Tufnell in 1997 being the player to achieve this feat. Panesar achieved his 6th 5-wicket haul in the final Test match, at Chester-le-Street. He took the wicket of the otherwise immovable Shivnarine Chanderpaul wicket to end the West Indies second innings. Panesar was not selected for the following Twenty20 matches, with both sides electing not to include full-time spinners in their sides.

Achievements

Awards

• NBC Denis Compton Award 2001
• Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2007

Test match performance

Test debut: vs India, Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, March 1, 2006.

A graph showing Panesar's test career bowling statistics and how they have varied over time.

Man of the match awards:

Man of the Series awards:

One-day International performance

ODI debut: vs Australia, Melbourne - Jan 12, 2007