Monty Panesar

Panesar is primarily a left-arm finger spin bowler. Early in his career, former England head coach Duncan Fletcher described him as "the best finger spinner in the world" Panesar has certain physical attributes that help with his spin bowling: he has unusually large hands, measuring 14 inches (36 cm),and can also rotate his hand at his wrist through 360 degrees.

Panesar's first Test match was against India at Nagpur. His first test wicket was of the highly respected Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar. He also bowled batsmen Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif. Panesar took his first 5 wicket haul at Trent Bridge against Sri Lanka, taking 5–78. On 11 June 2007, Panesar became the first English spinner to take 10 wickets in a match since Phil Tufnell when he returned match figures of 10/187. This was achieved against the West Indies in the Third Test at Old Trafford. He took his 100th Test wicket on 25 May 2008, against New Zealand, also at Old Trafford.

Over the years, Panesar has acquired many nicknames. He is most commonly known simply as Monty