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Panesar looking forward to Old Trafford return

21/05/2008

Monty Panesar is looking forward to the second Test against New Zealand as he feels the Old Trafford wicket is ideally suited to his bowling.

The left-arm spinner struggled in the opening Test at Lord's but says he expects to have more success in Manchester.

Panesar has claimed 18 wickets in his previous two Test matches at the ground and the Northamptonshire player says it is the extra bounce that helps him get his wickets.

He said: "I've had success here and I'm going to be looking forward to bowling here coming into this Test.

"I like the pace of the wicket here because the ball often gathers pace after bouncing and it turns quite sharply. My kind of pace suits this kind of wicket."

Panesar is aware that any help he gets from the pitch will equally benefit Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori, who won the man-of-the-match award in the first Test.

The England spinner says he looks up to his Black Caps counterpart and hopes to be as consistent a threat as the New Zealander one day.

"I've only just started in international cricket and he's played for years - he knows his craft. I look up to him and maybe in a few years time I can emulate what he does," added Panesar.

"I look at him and see how he bowls and the success he's had in all forms of the game – it's refreshing to see another left-arm spinner do well."

Ahead of the second Test, Panesar added that he expected New Zealand to continue to play in a "determined" fashion after they managed to earn a draw in the first Test.