Deep Fine Leg

Just a quick post from me today. Once all the Christmas festivities have winded down sufficiently, normal service will be resumed next week.

Something I wanted to bring to your attention though was how fantastic a read Marcus Trescothick’s Autobiography is. Having received it as a gift on Christmas day, I am already heading towards the end of it and I have enjoyed every second.

It is such a fascinating insight into the early career of ‘Banger’, his rise to become an international cricketer, the 2005 Ashes victory and the stress related illness that meant he had to end his England career much sooner than many would have hoped.

It must never be forgotten what a fantastic player he was for his country and I genuinely hope that he continues to score runs for Somerset for many years to come.

Take my advice, go and buy this book. It doesn’t matter if you are a fan of England or not, any cricket fan in the world will be hanging on every word. Especially the opening chapter.

Trescothick is a man that has been through a lot that people were unaware of. This is rather unique for an autobiography, so go out and but it now. You won’t be disappointed.

By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about sport betting and sport odds

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Former England one-day batsman Vikram Solanki says that a decent performance from Monty Panesar in the second test against India is crucial should Kevin Pietersen’s side want to level the series.

The England spinner was from far from at his best during the Chennai test and Solanki admits that Panesear should have had ‘more of an impact’ on proceedings. Despite taking three wickets in the first innings, Panesar failed to claim a victim as India chased down 387 to win the match in dramatic fashion.

This performance from the spinner, along with a number of below par displays during the English summer has led to people questioning whether he deserves a place in the side. They argue that Graeme Swann – who made a fantastic start to his test career – should be picked ahead of Panesar.

However, Solanki is backing the Northants man to improve because he is the ‘premier spinner’ in the England team and one who is more than capable of putting in a ‘better performance’ throughout the second test.

The Worcestershire captain did admit that there would be a ‘little bit of pressure’ on Panesar though and that this was something he wasn’t too used to during his international career. Not many times has his place in the test team been under threat, so he needs to remind everyone what he can do.

Panesar’s lack of variety and fading confidence in international cricket could be down to his lack of competitive action in recent weeks according to David Capel. The Northants coach says that Panesar ‘hasn’t played for some time’ and this could be why he suffered in the first test.

Capel went on to say that he expects the spinner to find his form again before long and that he will win test matches for England for many years to come.

There is no doubt Panesar has the ability. It is just frustrating when he doesn’t seem to believe in himself. If you sat him down and asked him whether he thought he belonged in test cricket, I am not so sure that he would give a convincing answer.

The reality is though that the cricket odds are always more likely to favour an England win if Panesar is on form. I just hope we see this before it becomes too late and he loses his place in the team.

By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about cricket betting

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