Spinners of the Future

Thursday March 16 2006

Watch out for these guysTest cricket is currently blessed with outstanding spin-bowlers. Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan lead the way, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Daniel Vettori and Danish Kaneria all world class spinners in their own right.

Here we look at two spinners aiming to make an impression in 2006.

Monty Panesar (England), Age: 23, Test Average: 43.66.

The recent speculation suggests England do not yet possess that world class spinner that can consistently win Test matches and push England ever closer to the elusive No.1 spot.

Bedfordshire born Monty Panesar (full name Mudhsuden Singh Panesar) is England's new man on the block, and the early indications are that he is ticking all the right boxes. Indeed it is only early, as Panesar has appeared in just 30 first class games.

Monty bowls left arm orthodox spin, with a smooth repeatable action and good control. He bowls aggressively, looking to take wickets as averse to being content merely containing the batsman.

He plays county cricket for Northamptonshire, where he has recently secured a two year contract extension, keeping him at Wantage Road till 2007.

His appearances for Northants have been sporadic due to attending Loughborough University where he was enrolled as a full time student.

The potential of Panesar has always been evident, he represented England Under 19's for two seasons, and made his debut against Sri Lanka in 2000. Then came more recognition with his selection for the National Academy squad in 2002.

His potential was realized to some degree in 2005, where he captured 46 Championship wickets at an outstanding average of 21.54. It is even more impressive when you consider the fact that he has only been a full time cricketer since he graduated in the summer of that year.

The 23 year old recently enjoyed a stint at Darren Lehmann's Academy in Adelaide with the purpose of improving his batting and fielding in an attempt to move him closer to England selection.

His hard work paid off earlier this month when he made his international debut against India at Nagpur. It was a bigger stage to showcase his obvious talent, and he didn't disappoint as he removed Sachin Tendulkar (his first Test wicket) and Rahul Dravid.

He also shared in a 66 run partnership for the last wicket with Paul Collingwood, despite only scoring 9 runs, he was at the crease for over an hour giving excellent support.

He is no doubt a young spinner with a bright future, and he carries the hopes of the nation on him materializing into Englands elite slow bowler.

Malinga Bandara (Sri Lanka), Age: 26, Test Average (Bowling): 37.76, (Batting): 14.75

Malinga Bandara made his debut for Sri Lanka way back in 1998, aged 18. Unfortunately the gulf was too big for him to immediately take to Test cricket. After a decidedly average First Test he found himself out of contention for some time (he wasn't selected again till Dec 2005).

Hindsight shows that he was indeed selected far too early to represent his country at the top level. He did appear for the Under 19 side in 1997 and in the Under 19 World Cup in South Africa.

In 2003 and 2004 he spent two seasons at Normandy Cricket Club in Englands Surrey League. He described the experience as "helping to improve his cricket overall".

Bandara put himself back into the international frame when he played in an unofficial Test series for Sri Lanka A team against England in 2005. He was Sri Lanka's outstanding performer, and in the 2nd Test he achieved match figures of 11-126. Also a handy lower order batsman, that can strike the ball well, he chipped in with scores of 45, 23, and 50.

Gloucestershire came calling for him later that year, and he replaced his fellow countryman Upul Chandana for the second half of the season. His success was evident when he picked up the Player of the Year award for taking 45 wickets at the expense of 24.15 per wicket.

He admits he learnt plenty at Gloucester (specifically about professionalism), including helpful advice from Pakistan star Mushtaq Ahmed who was playing for Sussex at the time.

His One Day international debut came at the beginning of 2006, and the signs were encouraging as he helped Sri Lanka qualify for the VB Finals against Australia. His record currently reads 17 wickets in 14 games at 28.52.

Leg spin is an exceptionally difficult art to master and at the age of 26, he still has time on his side. His immediate aim will be becoming a regular feature in Sri Lanka's Test side, and if he continues to improve he can look forward to a long and rewarding career for his country.

(Cricket365, 16/03/06)