How ex-England player Monty Panesar came to join a village team

Lacking a player ahead of the upcoming cricket season, Dan Pennell, captain of Pelsall Cricket Club's first team, took a risk and sent an Instagram message to a former England international cricketer, asking him if he wanted to fill the spot.

That player was Monty Panesar - who appeared in 50 Tests, 26 one-day matches and a T20 international, as well as taking 709 first-class wickets during his professional career.

A bold move, but one that paid off - within the hour, Pennell's phone lit up. It was Panesar, and he had said yes.

"I just didn't expect it to be fair, I was watching the football at home and then this DM came through to me and I was like: 'Wow, is it truly him?'" Pennell said.

"He sent me his number within 20 minutes, and we spoke the next day."

Pelsall Cricket Club had been expecting an overseas player to fly over from Zimbabwe, but there were a series of visa and border issues that had caused him to be delayed.

When other options failed, a friend of Pennell's told him he did not think that Panesar was playing this year.

"I think he was just at a loose end, he had moved to Leicester which is an hour away from us, he'd been playing in the East Anglia league, and it was going to be too far for him to get there," he told the BBC.

He said that it had been a "whirlwind" since the news broke.

"We had a players meeting and I broke the news to them and literally they were in shock," he said.

"The look on their faces, they were laughing 15 minutes later, we couldn't believe it."

Luton-born Panesar began and ended his career with Northamptonshire, either side of spells with Sussex and Essex.

He made his England debut against India in 2006 and his last Test came seven years later, in an eight-wicket defeat by Australia in Melbourne.

Last year, he played for an England Masters team in a six-team International Masters League in India, taking four wickets in five games.

Pennell is hoping he will draw in a crowd.

"My phone's been mad, it hasn't stopped," he said.

"Hopefully he can stand in the slips and catch us some catches, teach the lads a few things as well.

"It looks at the moment that Monty's signed for the 2026 season, I'm really pleased."

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