Panesar ready for challenge

Monty Panesar was very successful during the summer Test series © Getty Images

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Monty Panesar may have won over England coach Duncan Fletcher, but he now faces the tougher challenge of winning respect Down Under during this winter's Ashes series.

The 24-year-old left-arm spinner has enjoyed an outstanding first year in international cricket and will form a major part of England's plans to retain the urn this winter.

Thrust on to the tour to India last winter due to Ashley Giles' long-standing hip injury, Panesar made his mark by claiming Sachin Tendulkar as his first Test victim and followed that with impressive displays against Sri Lanka and Pakistan this summer.

His 16 wickets in the series victory over Pakistan, including six wickets on an unresponsive surface at Headingley, convinced Fletcher he finally had a world-class match-winning spinner on his hands.

Perhaps the turning point was Panesar's magnificent delivery to Younis Khan in that Headingley Test, when the ball turned away from Pakistan's master batsman and clipped his off stump, much to his bemusement.

“As a finger spinner there is probably no-one to match him in world cricket at the moment,” enthused Fletcher, who was previously suspicious about Panesar's suspect abilities with the bat and in the field. “His control is very, very good.”

That is underlined by an economy rate of only 2.58 from his first 10 Tests, a return which compares favourably with Shane Warne (2.64), Stuart MacGill (3.16) and Muttiah Muralitharan (2.39).

But the big test ahead of him now is to prove to an Australian public that this time England have discovered a spinner ready to compete at the highest level.

Ashley Giles © Getty Images

Unlike his fellow left-arm spinner Giles, who was a predominantly defensive bowler, Panesar achieves his impressive economy rate by attacking and pinning the batsman down in a similar manner to Warne.

But unlike Warne, whose constant chatter to the batsman is a key part of his armoury, Panesar relies on guile and spin to outwit his opponent rather than indulge in psychological tricks.

It is clear, though, that he already has Australia concerned with Ricky Ponting promising his batsmen will be a lot more aggressive towards Panesar than either India, Sri Lanka or Pakistan have been.

It is an age-old Australian tactic to unsettle the opposition and one they only normally use when they are concerned about facing a particular player.

But one of Panesar's great strengths is his temperament and his refusal to become intimidated no matter what the opposition - as he has proved when bowling to greats like Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Inzamam-ul-Haq in the last year.

“Ponting said their batsmen would look to dominate me but that's no surprise,” said Panesar. “World-class spinners who have achieved far more in the game than me have gone to Australia and their batsmen have gone after them so obviously they're going to target me - it goes with the territory.

“Playing against Australia would be a new learning curve for me. The batsmen are coming down the pitch so what do I do now? How do I combat this? It will help me develop as a player technically and mentally. That isn't a frightening prospect, it excites me.”

Ricky Ponting © Getty Images

The Luton-born spinner is similarly unconcerned by Ponting's warning about the reception he can expect from the partisan Australian fans, who will relish the chance to ridicule yet another English spinner.

“At the start of this summer I got a mixed reaction from English crowds - some people were laughing at me,” said Panesar.

“So if something like that happens in Australia, I'm sure I can cope because I already know how it feels.”

Quite apart from impressing coach Fletcher with his composure, his ability to focus on his cricket has also gone down well with his team-mates.

Panesar's celebrity as the first Sikh to play for England has attracted plenty of attention away from the game with interview requests increasing with his success.

But he has found a formula to limit his exposure and concentrate on his game, particularly his weak areas.

“First and foremost he's a guy that absolutely loves playing and absolutely loves practising,” revealed Andrew Strauss, who captained England to the series win over Pakistan.

“If you've got those raw ingredients there you're probably not going to get distracted.

“He realises there are areas that he needs to continue working on and he's more than willing to put in the time and effort to do that and I think that bodes very well for the future.”