Monty has England over the moon

NEW DELHI: Monty Panesar has England over the moon. Geoff Boycott finds him "an absolute joy to behold". Former England paceman and cricket writer Mike Selvey thinks the left-arm spinner’s recent performance is "securing his cricket future and status as a national hero." And journalist Owen Slot in the Times, London labelled him as "an unlikely new England pin-up".
There's more. The 24-year-old Sikh from Bedford is also generating the hottest cricket blogs. A poll on The Corridor, a cricket blog, shows 92 per cent would prefer him to Ashley Giles, England's injured left-arm spinner who Panesar replaced. Various anagrams of his name are being formed: Anymore Pants, Arson Payment and Yearns Tampon.
After his three wickets in each innings helped fashion England's series win on Tuesday, Panesar is odds on favourite to win 2006 BBC Sports Personality Of The Year. He is now 5-2 compred to 10-1 last week. His rivals: David Williams, comic actor who swam across the English channel (11-4), footballer Steven Gerrard (100-30) and Formula One driver Jenson Button (7-1). Not long ago, only stand-up comics could have conjured such a scenario. Crowds often jeered Mudhsuden Singh Panesar for his bumbling mis-fields. And his batting skills were considered only marginally better than those of 70s Indian leg spinner, BS Chandrashekhar.
The turnaround is amazing. These days the cheers are affable and appreciation of his bowling genuine. Last week, in an article on BBC Sport, Martin Gough explained the causes of this transformation.
The first reason, obviously, is his success with the ball. In the past four Tests, Panesar has claimed 21 wickets helping fashion two triumphs. As former England paceman Angus Fraser writes in the Independent, "Harmison's hostility may have won the second Old Trafford Test, but Panesar's spin has played a more significant role in winning the series."
When he takes a wicket, the English turbanator often leaps in delight. Gough writes: "Panesar's whole-hearted enjoyment of the Test stage has endeared him to fans at the grounds and TV viewers." He adds that Panesar, the first Sikh to play for England, is also "a small but significant step" for the England cricket team to be seen as "all-inclusive and forward looking."
Gough further points out that the 6 feet, 1 inch tall spinner, who plays for Northamptonshire county, also has "a tendency to take key wickets". His first Test victims were Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. Against Pakistan this series, he has claimed their two best players of spin, Mohammed Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq, three times each. After his match-winning spell former Middlesex bowler and noted sports writer Simon Hughes pointed out in Daily Telegraph that Panesar's six wickets in the third Test against Pakistan was the most by an England slow left-armer since Phil Edmonds in 1975. "And having played with Edmonds for eight years, I'd say Panesar is better. He is the real deal," he said. Adds Boycott in the same newspaper, "The ball he got Younis Khan out with was the kind a spinner dreams of."
England coach Duncan Fletcher though has been less effusive in praise. Last week, Fletcher said, "He's an outstanding bowler and doing a job for us because there's no-one else at the moment who can fulfill that role. I still have slight reservations about his batting and his fielding."
Boycott differs. He writes in Daily Telegraph, "What I like about Monty is that he bowls like those old-timers, coming around the wicket and keeping an attacking line. Since he first came into the England team, Panesar has improved his ground fielding, his catching and his bowling. You can tell that he puts his heart and soul into everything he does. "Once he has bowled an over, he goes down to the boundary and you can see him there, bowling another over in his mind. I find him an absolute joy to behold and so does the English public."
At the moment, few would disagree with the Yorkshireman.