Sports

The Return of Monty Panesar

by MIKE WALTERS

 

 

Less than 12 months after saving an Ashes Test with the bat, Monty Panesar - Mudhsuden Singh Panesar - was farmed out on loan to Bexhill in the Sussex League.

The cult hero behind thousands of cut-out masks and manic celebrations when he takes a wicket had become English cricket's forgotten legend.

Since his last-wicket alliance with Jimmy Anderson at Cardiff, a year ago this week, repelled the Aussies for 11.3 overs and effectively won the Ashes, Panesar 's s tar waned dramatically.

Frustrated by his lack of overs, exasperated by his lack of wickets and despondent about his fading England prospects, the ridiculous domestic fixture list left Panesar a whole month without a first-class match.

And when Sussex sent him along the coast to turn over his arm at struggling Bexhill, Monty looked ripe to become a trophy scalp for opposition sloggers who wanted to hit him over the South Downs.

Going back to his club cricket roots, however, proved stunningly therapeutic. Ever the consummate pro, not only did he take 17 wickets at 11.76 each in his three appearances for Bexhill (4-61, a match-winning 7-108 and 6-31), but then - out of the blue - the phone rang last week, and a familiar voice asked if he wanted to meet up in London.

It was Sachin Tendulkar, Panesar's first Test wicket in 2006, an lbw decision which sent Monty on a celebratory lap of honour around Nagpur, playing and missing at most of his team-mates' high fives.

The Little Master had signed the match ball for Panesar with the inscription, "Once in a blue moon.. never again!" and the pair have remained friends since.

Nothing, apart from a stack of Australia wickets in this winter's Ashes, could have lifted the Sikh of Tweak's spirits more than an audience with the greatest batsman of modern times.

Tendulkar, on his way to Wimbledon, passed on a couple of technical hints, told Panesar to c a r r y o n believing in himself and reassured him: "You're still one of the best in the world - all you've got to do is to go out and prove it."

When Panesar resurfaced for Sussex by taking 3-21 against Bangladesh at Hove on Sunday, he told friends his tete-a-tete with Tendulkar had lifted his confidence, just as the midsummer sabbatical at Bexhill - now over - was a "positive experience".

And he was in the mood to repeat the pre-season promise he made when joining Sussex from Northamptonshire: "Sikhs are warriors and I'm a fighter. I never give up.

"I want to win back my England place, I want to go on the Ashes tour of Australia this winter, I want to make things happen. I came to Sussex to make a fresh start.

"I've played in 39 Tests and I want to reach 100."

Bexhill first team manager Hamish Russell revealed: "When you're near the bottom of your league and someone offers you an England cricketer with 126 Test wickets, it's a no-brainer. From the moment he arrived, Monty was a perfect ambassador for himself, his county and English cricket.

"When we met before his first game, he was at the ground before everybody else, which was mildly embarrassing, and he couldn't do enough for us - he offered to open the batting, open the bowling and mucked in as much as he could.

"He made an effort to learn everybody's names, he thanked the tea ladies for their service and even offered to pay the £10 match fee which covers the cost of preparing the ground, the match balls and umpires.

"How big an impact has he had on the club? Well, I've never seen so many people trying to get into our bar, for a start.

"And he took 17 wickets in three games, including 7-108 against Horsham, who tried to get after him.

"Every time he was hit for four or six, he rose to the challenge, worked out how he was going to get the batsman out and always got his man sooner or later.

"At first, his celebrations when he took a wicket weren't quite as exuberant as they were for England, but by the second game there were hands in the air."

Bexhill chairman Martin Phillimore added: "Everyone at this club wants to see Monty playing in the Ashes this winter, whether skittling the Aussies on a turner or keeping them at bay with the bat again."

 

[Courtesy: The Mirror]

July 6, 2010

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