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Panesar's talent impresses coach
February 08, 2006 16:21 IST

Monty Panesar is endowed with natural talent and the 23-year-old British Sikh has all the traits of a world class spinner, believes England's new spin bowling coach David Parsons.

"I'm not saying he is the one, the world-beater, that we have all been waiting for. But given time and patience he could develop into a very serious spin bowler," Parsons told BBC Sport.

"He has good attributes, he is tall, strong and a fit boy and he spins the ball," he said.

"It's a hugely positive move to take him," he added.

On his ward, Parsons said: "Panesar has a pretty decent, simple, repeatable action that shouldn't fall apart under pressure. In a positive way, he is fresh and inexperienced. Some spinners have moved into a negative mindset but he is an attacking, wicket-taking bowler."

Parsons, appointed last month, has worked at length with Panesar at the England Academy in Loughborough and he feels the Loughborough University graduate has another natural advantage.

"Left-arm spinners are invaluable in that they get the ball going past the edge of the right-hander's bat."

"We have to accept that the ball going past the outside edge is still the ball in Test match cricket that will get a lot of wickets," he explained.

And with Ashley Giles not going with rest of the team leaving for India on Sunday, Panesar is tipped to make his Test debut against the country of his origin.

Impressed by Panesar's attitude, Parsons said, "Monty took himself off to Australia last year to work on areas of his game that he had been told were lacking. He seems to me to have the appropriate character in terms of desire and willingness to learn."

(UNI)

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