5 July 2007

Panesar - first bowler on the team sheet

It scares me somewhat that we seem to be making the same mistakes again in selection that we've made in the past. And it's the same player being unfairly treated - Monty Panesar. England left him out again yesterday, reportedly because the overcast conditions favoured seamers. But they picked Yardy?! I like Yardy and given Enghland's seam woes lately I would think carefully about playing Yardy and Panesar, but surely Panesar should be the first bowler on the team sheet?

Last summer it was rumoured that Panesar couldn't cut the mustard when the wicket didn't help him. As if to answer his critics he then took wickets at Headingley on a seamers wicket. He then went to Australia where he was omitted for the first two Tests but then came back in and did well against the best batsmen in the world, despite some poor tactics from his skipper Flintoff that didn't help him.

In the ODI's in Australia he played well and, when used attackingly by Vaughan, helped England to win the series. He then went on to have a decent world cup amongst some indifferent bowling, before taking more than half the wickets again of the next best bowler in the West Indies Test series.

To me he walks straight into the team whatever the conditions and opposition. But until the England selectors live up to their word and pick their most attacking bowler, we're going to repeat the mistakes of the past. Even if he gets picked for the deciding match v the West Indies and goes for 0-80, he should still be the first bowler on the ODI team sheet...

1 comment:

Karan said...

Monty must be the first name....i thought Moores would realise this and along with kp, colly, prior, freddy they would be the nucleus of both teams.