|
However, first-team opportunities have been limited and after a mere two
appearances in 2001 he played only six first-class matches in 2002. Even
so, he took 17 wickets at just over 32 each and did enough to earn
himself a place in the National Academy squad in Australia during the
winter.
A
fine season in 2005, where he took 46 Championship wickets at 21.54, was
followed by a stint at the Darren Lehmann Academy in Adelaide, and led
to calls from his coach at Northamptonshire, Kepler Wessels, for him to
be picked for England's tour of India in February. Wessels got his wish
and Panesar was handed his debut at Nagpur, picking up Sachin Tendulkar
as his first Test wicket, followed by Mohammad Kaif and Rahul Dravid.
That certainly wasn't a bad way to start but his career really took off
during his first international home season as he spun England to series
success against Pakistan. At Old Trafford he made the most of a helpful
surface with eight wickets, and then at Headingley he was England's best
bowler on a run-filled strip.
His ability to nail the key players moved to new levels with
Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan regular victims of
England's most exciting spinner for 30 years. His fielding and batting
are improving with every game as Monty continues to work tirelessly in
all areas.
Monty will be back from the ashes in early 2007 and available for a
variety of corporate events. |
