Cricket: Monty Panesar's passage to India will be smoothed by Sri Lankan stint

Monty Panesar will play club cricket in Sri Lanka next month to prepare for the two-Test series in India, which starts in December. Panesar will play first-class and one-day cricket for Bloomfield in Colombo, following the example of Steve Harmison and Andrew Strauss, who played in South Africa and New Zealand respectively as they prepared for recent tours. But while Harmison and Strauss were attempting to restore their form, which had collapsed, the situation with Panesar is more complex. There is a widespread feeling that, admirable bowler though he clearly is, his cricket has plateaued, that he is a one-dimensional bowler who finds it difficult to vary his essentially one-dimensional game. His overall record is good, with 114 wickets in 33 Tests at 31.95. But his past 13 Tests have brought only two five-wicket returns and... [read full story]