'Axed' Panesar stays behind in Sydney to learn more about cricket, character

England spinner Monty Panesar, who has been axed from the Test team that was routed by Australia in three days at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in the final Ashes Test, has revealed that he has stayed behind in Sydney to learn more about his game and his character.

When Graeme Swann retired mid-series as England's defence of the urn crumbled, Panesar, who was captain Alistair Cook's next best, was used sparingly in Melbourne and completely overlooked for the SCG finale when the selectors threw debutant Scott Borthwick to the lions.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Panesar, who has taken 167 wickets in 50 Test appearances, admitted that being dropped forced him to ask questions of himself, adding that he finally realised that in order to improve his game and make it evolve, he needed to make some sacrifices and get the best out of himself in Sydney itself.

The report mentioned that Panesar has linked with the Western Suburbs Cricket Club and will spend the next 10 weeks working on his game.

Hoping that his Sydney stint would hold him in good stead for the county season, Panesar lamented the opportunity lost to take the fight to the Australians on a SCG pitch, which he described as a turner, adding that he is also doing some fitness work and wants to get people to help him with his batting and fielding also.

Panesar further said that he would use his stint at Wests, home club of Australia captain Michael Clarke and injured Test fast bowler Mitchell Starc, to reach personal benchmarks and to impart his insights on its younger brigade.