Watch episodes one and two of our feature on the life of famous England spinner Monty Panesar.
“When it was his day, there was no better bowler.”
So says ex-England captain Nasser Hussain about Monty Panesar in our two-part feature on the former spinner.
Panesar became a cult cricketing figure as he bagged 167 wickets in 50 Tests for England between 2006 and 2013.
In ‘Being Monty’, first shown on Sky Sports in 2017, the left-arm spinner looks back on his career in-depth and charts his rise to national hero as well as his slide back down as he struggled to cope with mental health issues.
For all of his exploits with the ball, few England fans will forget his heroic last-wicket stand with James Anderson which helped to save the first Ashes Test of 2009 – a summer in which England would win the urn 2-1.
Last-man Panesar came to the wicket with England 233-9, still six runs behind Australia, needing to negotiate 11.3 overs with Anderson. Some 69 deliveries and 19 runs later, the England duo were national heroes after securing a priceless draw.
Reflecting on the climax to the Test, Panesar said: “I felt very calm, very relaxed; I wasn’t feeling the pressure of it at the time. We just had a very simple method in our mind – we would just take each ball as it comes.
“I remember saying ‘we’ve got this, this is a draw’. We were just in disbelief when we got back. It was just like you could hear a pin drop.
“We obviously hugged everyone but it was just a shock – it was like, has that really happened?”
You can watch both episodes of ‘Being Monty’ in the video at the top of the page – including Panesar’s reflections on…
– How swapping from fast bowling to spin saw him climb quickly through the ranks earning him a place on England’s tour of India in 2006
– His rapid Test rise after claiming his first wicket – that of Sachin Tendulkar – and how he quickly became a cult figure.
– How he was desperate to improve his batting and fielding but eventually was dropped by Duncan Fletcher at the start of the 2006/07 Ashes Tour.
– What Panesar made of Shane Warne’s view after the South Africa series of 2008, that the spinner had played one Test 33 times
– Plus, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Geraint Jones, Ashley Giles and Nasser Hussain assess what made the spinner so effective in his pomp
Sourse: skysports.com
