IT HAS been a long road from the valleys to the desert, but Monty Panesar kept the faith and claimed just reward with his 40th Test cap for England. There was a wicket too, albeit at the second time of asking, in 33 overs of toil for the 29-year-old on day one of the second Test at the Zayed Stadium.
Panesar could not stop Pakistan reaching 256 for seven by stumps – Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann did most of the damage, sharing the other six wickets between them – but Panesar was delighted after learning of his involvement, and said: “I only found out this morning. I was really excited, and the nervous energy started to build up.”
Panesar is especially thankful to England spin-bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed for setting him on the path – via Sussex from Northamptonshire – which has at last resulted in his Test return.
“When you’re out of the team you can get frustrated, and ‘Mushy’ kept that self-belief going,” he added.
“There are times when self-doubt does creep in and you think, ‘Is it ever going to happen?’. You’re not human if you don’t get that when you’re out of the England team.
“You need good coaches, good people around you to help you get through that – and that’s why Sussex is a really good place for me. I just kept on going and waited for an opportunity, and today I got one.”
Had James Anderson clung on to a sharp catch at slip off the slow left-armer, Misbah-ul-Haq’s unbeaten 83 would have been a mere 30.
That miss, the most costly of four by England, encapsulated a day which might have been so much better for the tourists as they seek to battle back in this second match of three after their hammering in Dubai last week.
But none of that context could detract from what it all meant to Panesar, back in the Test fold for the first time since July 2009 – when he played such a heroic role with bat rather than ball to salvage a hugely-significant last-ditch Ashes draw in Cardiff.