The spinner Fletcher
left behind finds himself another guru
David Hopps
Friday November 11, 2005
The Guardian
Most people know by now what sort of cricketer ticks
Duncan Fletcher's boxes. England's coach likes his
talent laced with resilience and adaptability and,
so soon after a victorious Ashes summer, no one is
about to question that.
So how do you respond if you are comfortably the most
talented young spin bowler in the country and yet
don't tick any of Fletcher's boxes - apart, perhaps,
from the one that says "I do not wish to be contacted"?
Monty Panesar is a left-arm spinner in the classical
mould. At 23, he might have won the learner's place
on England's tour to Pakistan - the one that went
instead to Alex Loudon, Warwickshire's off-spinning
all-rounder, because Loudon can bat a bit, has the
semblance of a doosra and is said to be made of the
right stuff.
Panesar cannot bat and his fielding at the national
academy sent Rod Marsh, the former director, into
despair. But he took 46 championship wickets for Northamptonshire
last summer at 21.54 and that takes some ignoring.
But in the weeks since England's squad to tour Pakistan
was announced, Panesar proclaims that he has found
his own mentor - a man to teach him the essence of
togetherness and passion, words that are central to
Fletcher's philosophy.
The lesson has not come from a heavy-jowled Zimbabwean
with the merest hint of a Mona Lisa smile. It has
come from a Sikh guru from the Nanaksar movement,
whose tenets include abstention from alcohol and celibacy
for its holy men.
Panesar spent a month on a Nanaksar farm near Edmonton
in Canada, helping with the harvest, and was inspired
by a sense of community. If he is to become the first
Sikh to play cricket for England, he aims to be a
model pupil.
"I have never spoken to Duncan," he said.
"But now I know what is required to play for
England. To go to Canada and meet the master was fantastic,
the defining moment in my life. He told me to go home
and concentrate on the cricket, to go full whack and
give it my passion. That's what I aim to do. He has
really motivated me."
Panesar's emergence would be a boon for England.
Ashley Giles, the slow left-arm incumbent, has proved
his survival qualities, but he is 33 and the next
time an India or Pakistan tour comes round the succession
may well have been decided. Fletcher, who calls Giles
his "faithful hound" after a South African
red wine, would have to learn to appreciate an altogether
different tipple.
"I have always believed in my master,"
said Panesar. "He is my guru. He is my maharaji
"We did voluntary work on the land, harvesting
the wheat and the canola and all united together.
There was a feeling of togetherness and passion. There
were strong binds and a sense of love. I have always
been willing to do everything for the team, to have
that sense of togetherness, but this has brought it
all home to me."
Panesar, misguidedly, did not win an academy place
this winter. In his time at Loughborough, his method
of running around the ball to round it up like a playful
dog left Marsh astounded. Instead, he leaves next
week for a month in Adelaide, where he will work under
the tutelage of the former Australia batsman Darren
Lehmann.
"The message was sent to me that I need to work
harder at my game - my batting and my fielding, my
speed and agility - and I want to do that," he
said. "Now I've met the master, I'm not worrying
about the past or the future, I'm living in the moment."
