The long and winding road......stops in Brisbane!!

December 3, 2006 3:25pm CST
Since Derek Underwood, England have yearned for a world class spin bowler who can run through batting line ups. Many have come and gone, Tufnell was probably the best of the lot but was never a consistent quality performer. 25,30 years England took to find one. Monty Panesar who first came to promenence when he was named as a Sun Millennium Kid in 2000. He got Tendulkar and Dravid out in India - and the ball to Mohammad Kaif which hit the off stump was as good as anything Bedi ever produced. He then continued his success against Sri Lanka and against Pakistan. Fletcher still wasnt happy - sad that his friend Giles was injured. Panesar then became the first English spinner in 50 years to take a 5 wicket haul at Headingley, notorious for being a seamers' haven and a graveyard for spinners. Come the Ashes, he was predictably dropped because Giles apparantly could bat and field. The sad thing is there was even a debate. Giles shouldnt even have gone to Australia - there are a few guys in county cricket better. England had gone down the long and winding road to find a world class spinner. When he came alone, they went back from where they came! What a tragedy for not just English cricket but cricket in general!
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1 response
@achyuta (2851)
• United States
3 Dec 06
I agree with you. Madusuden Singh Panesar should ahev been playing at Brisbane and Adelaide. If at all they needed a strong number 8 bat then they should have dropped anderson and brought Giles. Anderson is going for 4.5 runs an over and not taking any wickets anyways. Nice post. Happy mylotting. :)
4 Dec 06
If Fletcher wants a defensive spinner, Monty is the man. His economy is superior to Giles. If he wants an attacking spinner, Monty is the man as he has shown in his 10 test career. He is the best bowler England have produced since Darren Gough! If Fletcher wants a batting spinner, then Monty can do the job. What actual evidence is there that his batting is poor? He has seen batsmen through to 100s and scored 26 v Sri Lanka with shots even Brian Lara would be proud of. And in the field, he showed great character to take the catch of Dhoni in Mumbai and hes much more mobile than Giles which at mid on position is vital. England have enough catchers as it is! I don't see a case at all for Giles, I really don't.