Monty Panesar faces an uncertain future after Essex released him, leaving questions over whether the former England spin bowler will play again at first-class level. His chances looked bleak early in the season when he was given an indefinite break by the club to rediscover his zest for the game and the team. Hopes were rekindled briefly when he appeared against Surrey at Colchester last month and took five wickets, including the 700th of his career.
Neil Burns, the former county cricketer turned mentor, has been working with the 33-year-old and said in mid-summer that the bowler still harboured hopes of returning in time to make an impression on the England selectors before the start of the Ashes series.
That proved over-optimistic and Panesar, whose career has encompassed lows off and on the fields, proved unable to convince Essex that he could feature in their own plans for the longer term. He joined the county after being released by Sussex two years ago. The departure followed his arrest and fine for being drunk and disorderly when he urinated over a bouncer in an incident outside a nightclub in Brighton.
At that time he was divorced from his wife, Gursharan Rattan, after a short marriage. Signs of an early fracture were apparent when he was seen arguing in a pub car park and subsequently arrested on suspicion of common assault, though no action was taken against him. Panesar made the last of his 50 Test appearances against Australia in Melbourne in 2013 after Graeme Swann announced his sudden retirement. The comeback lasted a single game before England gave a debut in the spin berth to Scott Borthwick, who was not part of the original squad.
In all, Panesar took 167 Test wickets at 34.71, but one of his most memorable achievements came with the bat in 2009 when he helped James Anderson to secure a draw in the first Test against Australia at Cardiff. The tenth-wicket pair survived 69 balls between them against an increasingly frustrated attack.
Panesar will join Saf Imtiaz, Matt Salisbury and Greg Smith in leaving the Chelmsford club at the end of the season.
