Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known in the game as Monty, quickly established himself as a national hero following a series-winning display against Pakistan in 2006. With his black patka, softly spoken Bedfordshire burr and eager (if sometimes comical) fielding, he rapidly rose to become the fan's favourite. And with his plate-sized hands, he turned himself into England's most prized spinner in over a decade.

He took the well-trodden path from Bedfordshire, where he was born, to Northamptonshire, progressing through the youth teams until he was chosen to play for England Under-19s, which he did for two seasons. He then made his first-class debut, marking the game against Leicestershire with a return of eight for 131 in the match and four for 11 in the second innings. However, first-team opportunities were limited and after a mere two appearances in 2001 he played only six first-class matches in 2002.

Even so, he took 17 wickets at just over 32 each and did enough to earn himself a place in the National Academy squad in Australia during the winter. A fine season in 2005, when he took 46 Championship wickets at 21.54, was followed by a stint at the Darren Lehmann Academy in Adelaide, and led to calls from his coach at Northamptonshire, Kepler Wessels, for him to be picked for England's tour of India in February. Wessels got his wish and Panesar was handed his debut at Nagpur, picking up Sachin Tendulkar as his first Test wicket, followed by Mohammad Kaif and Rahul Dravid.

His naturally attacking instincts - more often than not bowling around the wicket to right-handers - contrasted with his cherubic and unconfined celebrations at the fall of each and every wicket. Like a lamb let loose from the paddock, the effervescence he showed confirmed his insatiable hunger and love of the game. But it was during his first international home season that his special ability was confirmed, spinning England to a series win over Pakistan. At Old Trafford he made the most of a helpful surface with eight wickets then, at Headingley, he was England's best bowler on a run-filled strip. The loop, guile and changes of pace outfoxed Pakistan's rubber-wristed top-order, including Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan.

In a matter of months he had elevated himself to the position of England's senior spinner, pushing aside Ashley Giles and drawing comparisons with Bishen Bedi, India's legendary left-arm tweaker. Yet Duncan Fletcher - ever the loyalist; rarely the risk-taker - preferred a rusty Giles for the first two Tests of the 2006-07 Ashes. Monty took his chance in the third at Perth, becoming the first English spinner to take five at the WACA (and eight in the match). As England crashed to a humiliating 5-0 defeat, Panesar was one of the precious few to return home with their reputation intact, and by the end of the tour he had even broken into the World Cup squad, following his crucial role in England's CB Series victory.

His performances in the Caribbean were merely steady, but he launched England's new era under Peter Moores with 23 wickets in four Tests against West Indies, and climbed in the process to No. 6 in the world rankings. But he then struggled in the following home series against India, and away in Sri Lanka, where he lost both his confidence and flight. Both attributes came back on the green-and-seaming conditions of New Zealand in 2008, however, bowling England to a 2-1 series win with 6 for 126 in Napier.

Thereafter, however, the successes were more fitful. Another remarkable performance against New Zealand delivered an improbable victory at Old Trafford in June 2008, but with Graeme Swann starting to make a bid for a Test call-up, Panesar's steadiness instead tended towards predictability. He was comprehensively outperformed by Swann during his return to India in December 2008, and again in the Caribbean, where his only appearances were as a second spinner.

That trend continued in the first Test of the 2009 Ashes, where he and Swann both underperformed with the ball, claiming one wicket between them. However, by batting through to the close in a remarkable tenth-wicket stand with James Anderson, Panesar reaffirmed his cult status, even though he did not feature again in a summer that finished with him losing his central contract, and even his place on the winter tour to South Africa. Sensing a need to reinvent himself, Panesar left Northants after a ten-year association, and headed south to Sussex. He returned to the Test side in the series against Pakistan in the UAE in 2011-12, and performed splendidly, taking 14 wickets at less than 22 each.
Will Luke

• 1970s
  From Ludhiana to Luton
  • Paramjit, Monty's father, migrates from India, marries Gursharan, and settles in Luton.
    
• 1992
  Spotted
  • Influenced by his father's involvement with Luton Indians Cricket Club, plays cricket for the first time aged 10. Is spotted two years later by Paul Taylor, the former Northamptonshire and England seamer. Is bowling "horrible little left-arm seamers [which] didn't seam or swing" for Bedfordshire, but is passing time in practice bowling spinners and "turning it miles".
    
• 1998
  First time for Second XI
  • Plays his first Second XI match for Northamptonshire, and impresses his coach Nick Cook with the pace at which he bowls, while also gaining dip and turn.
    
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• January 1, 2000
  Wunderkid
  • At 17, is named one of the Millenium Kids by the Sun newspaper - five "hungry" teenagers desperate to succeed in sport. Says he wants to be world's best spinner.
    
• August 28, 2001
  Match-winner on debut
  • Makes his first-class debut for Northamptonshire against Leicestershire at Northampton. Picks up 4 for 120 in 35 overs in the first innings, facing the daunting prospect of Shahid Afridi. Improves on that with a match-winning 4 for 11 from 20 overs in the second.
    
• 2001-2005
  Ponder years
  • Struggles to match his excellent performance on debut while combining cricket with studying for a computer science degree at Loughborough University. But in 2005, takes 16 wickets in two matches on late-summer dusty pitches, ending with 46 wickets in just eight games.
    
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• January, 2006
  Ready to use
  • David Graveney, the England chairman of selectors, and Kepler Wessels, the Northamptonshire coach , insist he is ready for Test cricket, both tipping him to feature in England's tour of India.
    
• January 27, 2006
  Back to India
  • Selected for England's tour of India alongside Ashley Giles and Shaun Udal.
    
• March 1, 2006
  Test class
  • In the Nagpur Test, becomes the first Sikh to represent England in Tests. On the third day, traps his hero Sachin Tendulkar for his first wicket, in a marathon spell of 2 for 73 from 42 overs. Impresses with his attacking line, dip and spin.
    
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• May, 2006
  One-trick pony?
  • Tops the Test averages with 10 wickets at 21.00 in England's three-Test series against Sri Lanka at home. And though taken to the public's hearts, doubts remain over his fielding and batting. Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, admits he "is under a lot of pressure" to improve the other two facets of his game.
    
• July 27, 2006
  One trick is good enough
  • Despite Fletcher's reticence about his batting and fielding, is chosen ahead of Jamie Dalrymple for the second Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford. After his supporting act of 3 for 21 in the first innings, he destroys Pakistan with 5 for 72 in the second - including the scalps of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan.
    
• August, 2006
  Spinning it to win it
  • On a lifeless Headingley pitch on which Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, could only manage 2 for 111, Panesar wheeled away for 47.4 overs and repeatedly tested Pakistan's famed batting lineup. Three for 39 in their second innings sealed their fate, and Fletcher's continued caution over his inclusion begins to irk the media, many of whom announce that he is now England's leading spinner.
    
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• November 23, 2006
  Still not England's best
  • Loses out to Ashley Giles for the first Test against Australia in Brisbane. This is Giles's first Test in 12 months, and the decision receives plenty of column inches.
    
• December 4, 2006
  Is nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
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• December 14, 2006
  Proving his Perth
  • Is selected ahead of Giles for the third Test against Australia in Perth. Becomes the first England spinner to take five wickets at the WACA.
    
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• March, 2007
  Fletch at odds with Wisden
  • Is termed England's "second spinner" by Fletcher, but receives encouragement from his captain, Michael Vaughan, who feels he will be a threat in the World Cup.
    
• Is named one of the Wisden Forty, and is chosen as one of the Five Cricketers of the Year in 2007's Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
  
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• May, 2007
  Doing HQ, and then some
  • Becomes the first spinner since Bishan Bedi to take six first-innings wickets at Lord's, in the first Test against West Indies. Five of the six were lbws - the first time a spinner has achieved the feat.
    
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• Records his first 10-wicket haul, against West Indies at Old Trafford with 10 for 187. Tops the series averages with 23 wickets at 18.69.
  
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• 3 for 21 and 5 for 72 v Pakistan, Old Trafford, 2006
  • Steve Harmison tears into Pakistan with 6 for 19 in their first innings, though ably supported by Panesar who removes the limpit-like Mohammad Yousuf on course for 3 for 21. England respond powerfully with 461 before Panesar blitzes Pakistan in their second innings, removing Imran Farfat and the Big Three: Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq en route to 5 for 72.
    
• 3 for 127 and 3 for 39 v Pakistan, Headingley, 2006
  • England compile 515 thanks to a sublime 135 from Kevin Pietersen, but Pakistan respond with 538. Mohammad Yousuf's gluttonous run continues with 192, while Younis Khan cracks 173. Panesar concedes 2.66 per over in his marathon 47.4 overs, picking up 3 for 127. England falter in their second dig, but set Pakistan 323 to win; Monty adds three more wickets, including Inzamam-ul-Haq, and memorably Younis Khan with the ball of the summer. Younis prod forward on the front foot, but the ball spat out of the rough on middle and leg, clipping his off-bail.
    
• 5 for 92 and 3 for 145 v Australia, Perth, 2006-07
  • Panesar is discarded, but not forgotten, in the first two Ashes Tests where Giles is preferred to him. Introduced at Perth, under enormous pressure, he out-bowls his England team-mates to record 5 for 92, causing everyone to ask just why he was previously excluded. Panesar takes his first Ashes wicket with only his seventh ball, bowling Justin Langer through the gate. Adam Gilchrist is next, padding up, but he gets a thin edge to short-leg. Andrew Symonds fails to pick up the line; Shane Warne nicks one to the wicketkeeper; Brett Lee is trapped in front, beaten by the flight, and all eyes are on Duncan Fletcher.
    
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