Day four or five?
I'm assuming that our co-blogger here is rather relieved that he had tickets to day three, rather than say days four or five, of the Old Trafford test.
I didn't watch much of the game. But a lot of the time when I did switch to the game, Monty Panesar was often bowling, and bowling beautifully!
I also hope that Ashley Giles' worries about not being able to displace Panesar turn out to be correct and he never plays international cricket again!
I'm also amazed by Duncan Fletcher's continued pig-headed approach. He keeps talking of Panesar's batting and fielding. There's no doubt that Monty has a long way to go in terms of improving his fielding. But I didn't see Fletcher say things like this when Kevin Pietersen thought that every catch that came to him was a live grenade during last summer's Ashes.
Update: Random thought - I find it positively spooky that Harmison & Panesar took all of Pakistan's wickets which fell to bowlers, almost exactly fifty years after Laker and Lock did the same to Australia, although I suspect Laker'd be turning in his grave at Lock being mentioned in that sentence!
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There's some talk of England possibly playing Giles and Panesar together in the Ashes at some stage, especially if Jones and Anderson don't make it back.
I can only hope that Duncan Fletcher is just trying to keep Monty on his game. I certainly don't want Dalrymple to be playing instead of Monty, and besides, the tail did well enough in this match. Monty has been hidden pretty effectively in the field, so that's not so much of an issue either.
Day three last year was pretty much a complete wash-out. This year our luck was in.
We'd like to add that Monty Panesar is VERY popular with the crowd, even if Fletcher does have reservations.
By 
Blue and Brown (31 Jul 2006, 1:06:00 pm)
geoff: I can't quite see the reasoning behind playing _two_ slow left arm bowlers (tough to call Giles a spinner - except for the odd delivery per series, like the one to Martyn!). I'd like to believe that Fletcher's merely keeping Monty on his toes. But saying all this in public doesn't do his confidence any good, that's perhaps for sure!
blue&brown: I hope the crowd finds Monty's bowling more likeable than his patka.
By Jagadish (1 Aug 2006, 12:19:00 am)
Totally agree re Fletcher's attitude to Monty. While he's been good for English cricket he can be a contrary old curmudgeon. In any case, Monty doesn't look that bad with the bat and will surely improve if given the chance, as will his fielding.
http://differentshadesofgreen.blogspot.com/
By Brian Carpenter (6 Aug 2006, 11:28:00 am)
So, assuming that Monty will improve his batting (far easier to do than improve fielding), will he be the first spinner ticked by Fletcher given that he satisfies the 'At least 2 skills' criteria? I'm fairly sure that if Giles is fit, he and Panesar will tour Australia. But what'd be far more interesting is who England play in the XI. I can't see both playing in a game.
By Jagadish (6 Aug 2006, 1:18:00 pm)
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