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Panesar teaches kids spin tricks in Mumbai
 Mumbai:
He could well have
been celebrating with his colleagues in England after their
momentous win in the tri-series over Australia Down Under. But
Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, Monty to the cricket lover and connoisseur
alike, preferred to fly 36 hours from Sydney to Mumbai instead.
Vested interest? Definitely.
The prospect of talking
to youngsters about the art of spinning a cricket ball, even if it
was only for a few hours,was simply too much to resist. So words
like ‘elbow higher and straighter, pivot’ reverberated around the
MIG Ground, Bandra, where Panesar was the guest for a reality TV
show.
He sported an arresting
smile after the coaching session. Must have liked what he saw in the
kids. “They have a lot of talent to work with. They’re also lucky to
have good coaches,” he said.
That’s a variation from
the experts’ view that spin bowling is dying in India.
“Every young spinner I
have seen in India has got tremendous talent,” said the man who
picked up five wickets in his first Ashes Test at Perth. He added,
“I can say this because they are brave and skilful enough to try all
the variations very early. There have been instances where our
batsmen have taken strike against a young off-spinner during nets
expecting it to be an off-spinner. Suddenly they realise that it is
a doosra after their middle pole goes out. Spinners here bowl a lot
of mystery balls.”
But none of the
left-arm-spinners seem to bowl them.With Panesar’s skill and
temperament, he could pioneer the birth of the leftie’s
doosra. The Luton-born
Sardar is apprehensive though. “It is not possible for anyone with
an orthodox action to bowl a doosra and generally all
leftarmers have orthodox actions.”
So what’s the variation
for a left-armer? “The armball,”states Panesar. “All other
variations can be flightrelated.That though doesn’t stop me from
trying out tricks in the nets. You never know, when I could discover
a mystery ball,” he adds.
If he develops it, he
could certainly save left-arm spin from becoming extinct. Panesar
takes affront to the eword.“There are some good ones around. India
have Murali Kartik, New Zealand have Daniel Vettori,who I think is
the best at the moment. England have me and Ashley Giles,” he says
excitedly.
The excitement stays in
the Nottinghamshire bowler’s voice when he talks of England’s
chances in the World Cup. After the win in the tri-series, he is
also confident of the team doing well.
“The Aussie tour really
turned around after Ed Joyce got a hundred against the Australians
in our penultimate league game at SCG. Paul Collingwood then took
off. Andrew Flintoff was inspirational with both bat and ball and
Paul Nixon exuded tremendous energy in the field. We are keen to
take those positives into the World Cup.”
21 February 2007
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