EXCLUSIVE: Monty Panesar dropped from Essex squad after failing to turn up to …

  • England spinner had been named in Paul Grayson’s side
  • Essex face Glamorgan in four-day match at Chelmsford
  • Either Moeen Ali or Samit Patel are to pip Panesar to Test place

By
Paul Newman

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Monty Panesar ran into more disciplinary trouble at the worst possible time when he was dropped by Essex just as England selectors prepare to pick their team to face Sri Lanka in the first Test.

Panesar was left out despite being chosen on Saturday to play against Glamorgan in the Championship when he failed to turn up for a team meeting yesterday morning after ‘forgetting’ that it had been scheduled.

Essex were quick to stress that they did not consider the matter to be serious. But it was the latest and most untimely example of Panesar’s ability to run into the sort of trouble which saw him sacked by Sussex last season. Graeme Swann’s retirement has left England in desperate need of a quality spinner and Panesar, at 32, remains the best specialist option when they meet on Wednesday to consider their options for Lord’s on June 12.

Yet he is likely to be pipped for a place by an all-round option in either Moeen Ali or Samit Patel with England as concerned as much by Panesar’s temperament as his ability to bowl out Sri Lanka on what is expected to be a flat pitch.

VIDEO Scroll down to the bottom to see Panesar talking exclusively to MailOnline after his nightclub indiscretions last summer

Dropped: Monty Panesar has been left out of Essex's LV=County Championship game against Glamorgan

Dropped: Monty Panesar has been left out of Essex’s LV=County Championship game against Glamorgan

Oops: The left-arm spinner had been tipped for a Test return by some but should miss out to Moeen Ali

Oops: The left-arm spinner had been tipped for a Test return by some but should miss out to Moeen Ali

The
suggestion at the start of this summer was that the new England regime
were prepared to forgive and forget the past misdemeanours of Panesar, who lost weight in the winter after staying on in Australia
after the Ashes to work on his game.

Yet,
the noises emerging from Chelmsford suggest Panesar has been a handful
this season. He was warned by his new county about his body language in
an early Essex match and had a row with Derbyshire’s Billy Godleman that
led to him being told to calm down by the umpires in a Championship
game.

He was replaced by the
promising leg-spinner Tom Craddock yesterday and must smarten up his
act if he is not going to squander the chance Essex have given him to
rebuild a career of such achievement before Swann usurped him.

Meanwhile,
the man who played one of the great one-day innings at Lord’s on
Saturday in England’s narrow fourth one-day international defeat is
adamant that he is not yet ready to be considered by England for the
two-Test series.

Are you ready? Peter Moores is set to name his first Test squad back in the England hotseat on Thursday

Are you ready? Peter Moores is set to name his first Test squad back in the England hotseat on Thursday

Jos Buttler
took England to within seven runs of their highest successful run chase
in any one-day international on home soil with his sublime 121 from 74
balls against Sri Lanka but does not expect to play in the first Test
next week.

‘I am probably
not ready for that,’ he said. ‘I average 32 in first-class cricket and
my glovework needs to improve, too, if I’m to play in Tests. I’m 23 and
have time to work on these things.’

England’s
first choice remains Matt Prior and all will depend on how he comes
through Sussex’s Championship match with Nottinghamshire at Hove where
the England  vice-captain reclaimed the gloves yesterday.

Centurion: Jos Buttler thinks he is not yet ready for Test cricket despite his stunning ton at Lord's

Centurion: Jos Buttler thinks he is not yet ready for Test cricket despite his stunning ton at Lord’s

Prior’s
chronic achilles condition has kept him out of  four-day cricket ever
since he scored a century for Sussex in their first game of the season
and James Whitaker, the national selector, has insisted that England
would not risk any player they deem not to be totally fit.

It
now seems almost certain that, should Prior not be considered fully
fit, England will turn to the man who remains one of the best
wicketkeepers in the world in Essex captain James Foster.

Foster
played the last of his seven Tests almost 12 years ago and his return
now, at 34, would be a comeback almost as remarkable as Andrew
Flintoff’s.

England look set
to pick him ahead of Buttler and Craig Kieswetter, especially if they
pick all-rounders in Moeen and Ben Stokes.

Comments (19)

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The comments below have been moderated in advance.

Guest,

OC,

1 month ago

” England’s best spinner,” __ But has no chance in the IPL – even Murali has to be g for chance to play!

Peterhouse1996,

Cambridge, United Kingdom,

1 month ago

One seriously overrated cricketer. The guy bowls average off breaks, too quickly, with no variation, cat bat and can’t field; yet still gets in the England side!

Franny,

Auckland, New Zealand,

1 month ago

If Panesar is Englands best spinner, then English crickets is definitely in decline.

Fergus Sira-Lexon,

England,

1 month ago

I keep hearing people say Monty has got to be our number one spin option this summer because there is nobody else but I say why pick a 32 year old who hasn’t played a Test in England for almost 6 years and was awful in the last 6 Tests he played when now would be a good time to bring in a younger spinner, with a view to preparing him for The Ashes next year?

Monty has averaged over 85 against the Aussies since his Ashes debut match, has he really shown enough in the last 18 months to make people feel sure he’s going to be at his best and perform well against the Aussies next year?

In fact, I don’t think he’s shown enough in recent Tests to suggest he’ll do well against Sra Lanka and India this summer.

Bertie Mee,

Highbury, United Kingdom,

1 month ago

The Fool Monty…..

Angryandgrumpy,

Truro, United Kingdom,

1 month ago

Monty is still the best spinner we have but has been treated deplorably by the cricket establishment who dropped him after they has failed to alter his highly successful action. In consequence he is distressed by his situation which manifest’s in his occasional misbehavior. Bring him back and he will take wickets and be a changed man.

null,

1 month ago

A hero of mine, even Named my Labrador after him, gutted now he has declined and seemed to have lost the plot. Come on Monty, I still have faith in you, sort it out!

Guest,

OC,

1 month ago

Panesar was watching IPL like the the rest of the world – he knew there was a serious game of cricket played at the highest level by the very best in the world …what more excuse does he need?

null,

1 month ago

Monty sort yourself out. There is a spinning place up for grab now Swann has retired

Billinger,

Wigan,

1 month ago

When he’s sat down we can only see half of him. What about the full monty?

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