Monty's ready for battle - Boje

Nicky Boje (centre), back as Northamptonshire captain, has noticed a newfound purpose in Monty Panesar

Northamptonshire captain Nicky Boje has seen plenty of evidence that Monty Panesar is using the new domestic season to reclaim his position as England’s premier spinner.

Panesar, 26, was dropped from the England side for the Tests against West Indies at the Antigua Recreation Ground and Kensington Oval over the winter, having lost his place in the one-day team to Graeme Swann in 2007.

But Boje, the former South Africa all-rounder, has been impressed with the attitude fellow left-armer Panesar has taken towards expanding his repertoire in pre-season.

“It’s great to have a player of his calibre at our disposal,” Boje told ecb.co.uk. “He’s a quality spin bowler and his record tells you that.

“The key for Monty is doing well in championship cricket. He’ll also get all the opportunities in one-day competitions to get him back into the England’s limited-overs side.

“For any spinner, variation is important. And I think Monty realised that last year.

“He’s done a lot of work at the end of last year and in pre-season. You can already see he’s worked on an arm-ball and on variation of pace.

“You’ve got to work out a batter - variations in the crease and how to change that depending on the wicket. There’s quite a lot of stuff to work on. But it does make it easier if you have that variation.”

Panesar has been freed up by England for Northamptonshire’s first five matches, the first of them the LV= County Championship Division Two opener with Leicestershire at Grace Road, which begins tomorrow.

Northamptonshire expect to have Panesar in their side for the meeting with Leicestershire at Grace Road this week

Panesar, from Luton, moves into his ninth season at Northampton after being plucked from Minor Counties cricket with his native Bedfordshire.

Panesar told ecb.co.uk: “Sometimes it's nice to reconnect with Northamptonshire, because I’ve been here for a number of years.

“I'm enjoying the way I've been bowling in pre-season. It's just going back to basics and have solid foundations.”

Though he was dropped for two Tests in the Caribbean, Panesar says the work he did with ECB spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed and assistant coach Andy Flower while sidelined helped him when he returned to the side at Port of Spain.

"Mushy was really good," added Panesar. "I got an opportunity to see how he looks at spin. When he went away Andy Flower helped me with net bowling. I enjoyed my experience in the Caribbean.

"I was pleased with how that match went but it would have been nice to square the series.”

It was more Highveld than foxglove or cowslip in the corresponding East Midlands derby last season, as Northamptonshire and Leicestershire fielded a combined 11 players not qualified for England.

But that is set to change this season - Northamptonshire have released Kolpak Lance Klusener and overseas player Johann Louw, meaning greater chances for Alex Wakely, Ben Howgego and David Willey, while a number of young batsmen are coming through further up the M1 at Grace Road.

A reassuring constant for Northants will be David Sales. The 31-year-old batsman signed a new four-year deal at Wantage Road after almost moving to Nottinghamshire.

Boje confirms that the county could not afford to lose their premier batsman and senior pro, the only survivor from the team that won the Second Division in 2000.

“David’s a quality player and person,” says Boje. “He’s got a serious cricket brain and you can’t lose experience like that - somebody who scores 1,000-plus runs a season, who’s played county cricket for 10 years and wins you one-day games.

“I’m not 100% sure if he’ll be fit (for the first game). It’s him and Rob White who are doubtful - two key batsmen.”

Panesar picks himself up after another near miss as West Indies hang on on the final day in Trinidad