Mudhsuden Singh "Monty" Panesar (born 25 April 1982) is an English former international cricketer. A left-arm spinner, Panesar made his Test cricket debut in 2006 against India in Nagpur and One Day International debut for England in 2007. In English county cricket, he last played for Northamptonshire in 2016, and has previously played for Northamptonshire until 2009, Sussex from 2010 to 2013 and Essex from 2013 to 2015. He has also played for the Lions in South Africa.
Born in Luton to Indian parents, Panesar is a Sikh, and so he wears a black patka (a smaller version of the full Sikh turban) while playing and training. Many of his fans have emulated him by wearing patkas and fake beards while watching him play.
When first selected for England he was widely perceived as being a particularly inept batsman and fielder, which resulted in much ironic cheering; the TMS commentator Henry Blofeld once accidentally referred to him as Monty Python. Panesar lost his place in the England Test team, being replaced by Graeme Swann and losing his central contract. However, his form improved with Sussex County Cricket Club, and so he was recalled to the squad for the 2010–11 Ashes series, although he did not feature in any matches. After taking 69 wickets in the 2011 county season Panesar earned a recall for the series against Pakistan in the UAE; he played in the second Test – his first Test appearance in over two and a half years. Panesar also played in 3 Test matches in India in 2012, before deputising for the injured Graeme Swann as lead spinner in the England tour of New Zealand, where he managed just 5 wickets costing 70 runs each.
His last international series was against Australia in the 2013–14 Ashes though he has not announced retirement since. In January 2017, Panesar was recruited by Cricket Australia as a spin-bowling consultant for the tour of India, after spending his winter as a club cricketer in Sydney.
Early life Panesar's father, Paramjit Singh, is an architect and real estate developer, who, along with Panesar's mother Gursharan Kaur, migrated from Punjab, India to Luton in England in 1979, where they continue to live, and where Monty Panesar was born. Panesar has a younger brother, Isher Singh, and sister, Charanjit Kaur Panesar. Panesar is a supporter of Luton Town. Panesar was educated at St. Matthew's Infant and Junior Schools and Stopsley High School, Luton. For Sixth Form, he studied at Bedford Modern School.School of the Black And Red, A History of Bedford Modern School by Andrew Underwood (1981); reset and updated by Peter Boon, Paul Middleton and Richard Wildman, 2010 He also has a degree in computer science from Loughborough University.
Cricketing ability Panesar is primarily a left-arm finger spin bowler. Early in his career, former England head coach Duncan Fletcher described him as "the best finger spinner in the world".
Over the years, Panesar has acquired many nicknames. He is most commonly known simply as Monty, however other nicknames have included "The Python" (a reference to Monty Python), "The Sikh of Tweak" (probably a humorous reference to Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne's sobriquet, "The Sheikh of Tweak)", "Parmesan Tony" (an anagram), "The Beard to be Feared".
Bowling Panesar has certain physical attributes that help with his spin bowling: he has unusually large hands, measuring , and can also rotate his hand at his wrist through 360 degrees.
Panesar's first Test match was against India at Nagpur. His first Test wicket was of the highly respected Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar. He also bowled batsmen Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif. Panesar took his first 5 wicket haul at Trent Bridge against Sri Lanka, taking 5–78. On 11 June 2007, Panesar became the first English spinner to take 10 wickets in a match since Phil Tufnell when he returned match figures of 10/187. This was achieved against the West Indies in the Third Test at Old Trafford. He took his 100th Test wicket on 25 May 2008, against New Zealand, also at Old Trafford.
In an interview with the UK's Daily Mirror newspaper, Panesar stated his intention to develop a left-handed version of the doosra, the off-spinner's version of the googly:
Batting Panesar is not a confident batsman, averaging just under 9 runs per innings in first-class matches, and under 5 runs per innings in Test matches. However, he has had significant batting performances: he scored a quick-fire 26 against Sri Lanka including a six off Murali in 2006, and in the Ashes First Test in 2009, he and James Anderson stayed in for 40 minutes, jointly surviving 69 balls to secure an important draw. In domestic cricket, Panesar made his highest first-class score of 46* against Middlesex on 7 May 2010.
Fielding Panesar's fielding has been criticised and at the start of his Test career, this led to loud sardonic cheers from the crowd for completing even the simplest fielding tasks.
Work ethic Former England captain Andrew Strauss, who has captained him in four Tests, said that Panesar "will be on the ground earlier than anyone, getting (ex-assistant coach) Matthew Maynard to hit catches to him. He will then bowl through most of the net session, before staying out long after most of the guys are back in the comfort of the dressing room, working on his batting, learning new shots, and perfecting those he already has."
However, Panesar was dropped by Sussex in the summer of 2013 in part due to a poor on-field attitude. While playing with a sore shoulder, he had developed a habit of using his foot to stop balls in the field and then underarm-throwing them back to the wicketkeeper.
Domestic career Originally a medium-pace bowler, he shifted to spin at around sixteen following advice from the Northamptonshire coaching staff. Paul Taylor, the former Northamptonshire seamer, suggested he switch to spin during a school coaching session.
As a schoolboy Panesar played cricket at Bedford Modern School for Stopsley High School, Dunstable Town CC and Luton Indian CC before being selected for the England Under-19 team. His first-class debut came in 2001, at the age of 19, when he played for Northamptonshire against Leicestershire. He took eight wickets in the match including 4–11 in the second innings, bowling 16 maidens. His appearances over the next few years were limited, partly because of his commitment as a full-time student at Loughborough University.
After graduating, he became a more important member of the Northamptonshire team and had a fine season in 2005, taking 51 County Championship wickets at an average of just 22.47 including career-best figures of 7–181 against Essex. In the 2009–10 season he signed to play for the Highveld Lions in South Africa. In the 2010 season Panesar joined Sussex after leaving Northamptonshire at the end of the 2009 season. He impressed at Sussex in his debut season, taking 52 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls, at an average of 25.69. He went on to score 163 runs at an average of 10.86 with a career-high score of 46 not out. In the 2011 season Panesar picked up 69 wickets for his county, making him the second highest wicket taker. He took them at an average of 27.24, which included three five-wicket hauls.
During the 2012 season he picked up his career-best figures in both an innings and a match. He took 7–60 in the first innings, and 6–77 in the second, taking 13–137 for the match against Somerset. Panesar struggled for Sussex during the 2013 season, and when Sussex announced that his contract would not be renewed at the end of the season, Panesar was loaned out to Essex. Panesar later signed a 2-year contract with Essex, beginning in the 2014 season. However, in September 2015, it was announced that he was one of four players released by Essex at the end of the 2015 season. He returned to play for Northamptonshire in 2016.
In August 2019, Panesar revealed that he was in talks with the Indian domestic team Puducherry, with a view to play in the 2019–20 Ranji Trophy. However, he was unable to participate as only Indian citizens are allowed play in the competition. Panesar holds an Overseas Citizenship of India, but this does not grant complete citizenship.
In December 2023, East Anglian Premier Cricket League side Great Witchingham announced that it had signed Panesar for the 2024 season. In 2026, Panesar signed for the South Staffordshire Premier League side Pelsall CC.
International career
Test selection: England in India, 2005–06
Due to his performances in 2005, many figures called for Panesar's inclusion in the English Test squad for the 2006 tour of India. For a place as back-up spinner to incumbent Ashley Giles he faced competition from left-armer Ian Blackwell and off-spinners Shaun Udal and Alex Loudon. It was suggested that his reputation for poor batting and fielding might hamper his chances of selection, but earlier in 2005 he had attended the Darren Lehmann Academy in Adelaide in order to address these issues. He was selected in January 2006 for the tour to India, and made his international debut in the first Test against India in Nagpur. He took three wickets, including India's two best batsmen, Sachin Tendulkar and captain Rahul Dravid. The former, who Panesar states was his childhood hero and was the spinner's first international Test wicket, later signed the cricket ball that dismissed him and presented it to Panesar. Panesar went on to play in the second and third Test matches, in Mohali and Mumbai with thirty-five of his family members attending the Test at Mohali, Punjab.
Sri Lanka and Pakistan in England, 2006
On 11 May 2006 Panesar made his maiden Test appearance in England against Sri Lanka at Lord's. He played a small role in the first and second Tests, taking only five wickets. He was to fare better in the third by claiming his first five wicket haul with bowling figures of 5/78. He followed this up with an innings of 26 from 28 balls that included a swept six, adding 37 for the final wicket with Liam Plunkett, although Sri Lanka won the Test by 134 runs.
Panesar took three wickets in the first innings of the Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford, Manchester on 27 June 2006. His wicket-taking was overshadowed by Steve Harmison who took a six wicket haul to get Pakistan all out for 119 in the 1st innings. However, Panesar took 5–72 in the second innings, and Harmison 5–57. The pair took 19 of the 20 Pakistani wickets in the match (the other being a run out) in an innings-and-120-run victory. This was the first time two bowlers had taken all bowling wickets since Jim Laker's record match figures of 19 for 90 again at Old Trafford.
In the first innings at Headingley, Panesar picked up three wickets including that of Inzamam-ul-Haq, who overbalanced and dislodged the bails with his stomach to be dismissed hit wicket. In the second innings Panesar had figures of 3 for 39. Panesar was given some credit for responding to criticism from England coach Duncan Fletcher. Despite his performances in the Test arena against Pakistan in the summer of 2006, Panesar was overlooked for the 30-man ODI squad for the 2006 ICC Champion's Trophy in India.
England in Australia, 2006–07
The likelihood of Panesar playing against Australia in the 2006–07 Ashes series led to media commentary by some Australian players, who indicated that they would take an aggressive approach towards him. Australian captain Ricky Ponting said, "We'll try to make some sort of impact on him early on, and we won't let him get on top. The way our left-handers, especially Justin Langer and Matty Hayden, play spin is to be fairly aggressive." However, he was also praised by Ponting. Ponting told the Sunday Age, "He (Panesar) didn't look like he was scared to throw the ball up a little bit and actually try to get you out. He's got good, subtle changes of pace and, watching the other night (against Pakistan), a really good arm ball as well.".