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Panesar points finger of blame at himself for slow wicket-taking
A CLUTCH of out-of-form England batsmen were doubtless still soul-searching yesterday, seeking a path to redemption and salvaged pride in this week’s third Test.
Yet none of Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan or even captain Andrew Strauss spoke publicly of their battle to come to terms with Pakistani spin in the desert.
Instead, Monty Panesar was not only in the chair but chose to divert the blame for a second successive Test defeat in Abu Dhabi away from a misfiring England middle order – and on to himself.
It seemed a harsh self-assessment after he had returned to international cricket for the first time in two-and-a-half years and bagged a second-innings haul of 6-62 at the Zayed Stadium, to hand his batting team-mates an apparently achievable winning target of 145.
They then fluffed their lines on the way to 72 all out – No 11 Panesar was left on nought not out – yet England’s slow left-armer was full of self-reproach for a first-innings performance which brought him just one wicket, for 91 runs, in 33 overs.
Pakistan were still bowled out for 257, and England established a 70-run lead. Panesar, however, insists he could and should have done better.
“I was pleased with my performance in the second innings. But maybe I let the team down in the first innings,” he said. “I didn’t take wickets at a quick enough rate, and Swanny (Graeme Swann) kind of carried me – helping me out – and made me feel part of the team.
“It’s nice to bowl with him and bowl in tandem.”
Did England’s batsmen not then make a hash of their fourth-innings target, though?
Panesar responded: “Pakistan bowled well in that last innings – and in the first innings I took one wicket in 33 overs.
“I need to pick up wickets at a quicker rate. That’s something I want to develop and improve.”
Surely, even against Abdur Rehman and Saeed Ajmal on a turning pitch, England should have made a better fist of a modest target to level the series?
“As batsmen, we did get tested – and we’re determined to come back stronger in the third Test,” said Panesar.
“With conditions out here, the Pakistani bowlers maybe had more of the luck with the conditions because they had a fourth-innings track with some cracks.
“The guys have been tested, but we all really want to put on a good show and we hope we can bounce back and play with a lot of pride and produce a good result.”
England must win the final Test to be sure of retaining their hard-earned world No 1 status by the time the International Cricket Council annual cut-off date comes round at the start of April.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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