Published: 20/11/2009 22:34:05 | Modified: 20/11/2009 22:38:44
Author: Bruce Talbot | All Contributors
Monty acted on Mushy advice
Monty Panesar has revealed the part Mushtaq Ahmed played in his decision to head to Sussex after a decade with Northamptonshire.
The pair have worked regularly since Mushtaq retired from the game in 2008 and subsequently became part of the England coaching team.
It will be some performance were Panesar to get close to what Mushtaq achieved during five seasons at Hove when he was the catalyst for a decade of success when Sussex won three Championships and the Pakistan leg-spinner took 478 first-class wickets.
Panesar said: "I spoke to Mushy who still thinks of Sussex as his county and he was keen to have me at Hove. He said that there was a real family feel to the club and Mike Yardy, who I have toured with, was also very persuasive.”
More importantly perhaps, Panesar cited Ed Joyce as an example of someone rejuvenated by a move to the south coast.
"Ed Joyce is a good example of a player who has gone down there and settled very quickly,” he added. “That suggests to me a really strong team culture which I am keen to play a part in developing further. I am looking forward to living by the sea and adapting to a new environment."
The presence of so many England team-mates and ECB Academy colleagues should also help the settling-in process for a player who has lost his way in the last 18 months.
When he out-bowled New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori at Old Trafford in May 2008 to take a career-best 6 for 37 against the Kiwis he was being hailed the best finger spinner in the world.
But his international career has declined steadily since then and his last Test appearance, against Australia in Cardiff in July, was made famous because of Monty’s last-wicket game-saving stand with James Anderson rather than anything he did with a ball in his hand.
He took just 18 Championship wickets at nearly 60 apiece for Northants in 2009 and when his England central contract was not renewed it became financially impossible for the Midlands county to hang on to him even though he had a year remaining on his contract.
As a gesture of goodwill, Panesar gave Northants £10,000 so he could be released to sign a three-year deal with Sussex, a move his new coach Mark Robinson believes can help him win back his England place.
Robinson said: "From my discussions with Monty it became clear that he is coming here for the right reasons.
"People forget that he virtually went from being at university straight into the England team and in the last 18 months things have not gone his way.
"But he is still a quality bowler. You don't take 126 wickets in 39 Tests if you haven't got ability.
"He has come here to reinvigorate his career and get back into the England squad. That's what we want all our players to do and I'm sure it will happen for Monty again. I think he will flourish in our environment."
Panesar is currently playing for Highveld Lions in South Africa but will return in February to begin the next phase of his career.