Rate it!

0 votes

The turbulent atmosphere in the England dressing room was partly to blame for Monty Panesar's downturn in form over the winter, according to Northamptonshire head coach David Capel.

Panesar, the 26-year-old left-arm spinner, struggled for his six wickets in the hastily-rescheduled two-Test series in India, and was axed after having little impact in England's pivotal innings defeat to West Indies in the first Test in Jamaica.

The tour to India before Christmas saw the breakdown in the relationship between captain Kevin Pietersen and head coach Peter Moores - and Capel believes the fall-out would have affected Panesar more than most.

"There has been a very disruptive period of time in the England dressing room," said Capel.

"Some people handle things in different ways. I wonder at times whether that has been a contributory factor (to Panesar's performances). When it wasn't so disruptive, Monty was doing well.

"I'm not going to say what I think Monty needs as an individual. But I'm aware how he ticks and what gets the best out of him.

"For any cricketer, it is an advantage to have a stable existence within the dressing room - anyone would thrive on that."

Nonetheless, Capel, the former Northamptonshire and England all-rounder, says too much has been made of Panesar needing to apply greater variation in his bowling.

He also backed the left-armer to take his place back in the England side for the first Test of the summer versus West Indies on May 6.

"Since he's been with us we've seen Monty really tuned in about his game," Capel said.

"I believe he's back in a position where he should be involved with England. I've budgeted for him to leave us on May 3 to play in the first Test.

"He's been practising all the different variations - arm ball, changing his angle of delivery.

"But more importantly, he's been practising that dynamite stock ball, the one that pitches on middle stump and hits the top of off.

"What he has bowled so far has got him to over 120 (Test) wickets in very quick time. It would be very churlish to ignore."

Panesar suggests that losing his place for the rearranged third Test at the Antigua Recreation Ground and the next match in Barbados might have done him some favours - as he returned with a much-improved performance in the close-run final match in Trinidad.

Panesar is effusive in his praise for England's interim coach Andy Flower, who worked closely with him after the ECB spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed returned home midway through the West Indies tour.

Panesar said: "I was pleased with how the last Test went, apart from the result. I'd been out for a couple of Test matches and managed to work a bit more closely with Andy Flower, a world-class player of spin.

"It was like a resting phase and gave me the opportunity to hone my skills a bit more when it came to the last Test.

"All the best spinners are very adept at making the right tactical decisions. And I think when we got to the last Test my variation of speed was much greater."

England have made Panesar available for all five of Northamptonshire's matches ahead of the Lord's Test - kicking off with their LV County Championship midlands derby with Leicestershire at Grace Road.

SportingLife / Eurosport