Panesar's travels and travails

No, can't enlighten you there borderman. Actually the Essex board is one of those funny closed shop thingies and I'm told they go in for lots of internecine bloodletting, so not one for me. On the Kim Jones Domestic Forum there is talk of a) Monty blotting his copybook for unspecified reasons and b) Going back to Northants. Neither statement is substantiated in any way so we will have to wait and see.

Yes, it's all a little bit sad

From another messageboard today:
"There's what looks as if it could be an interesting article about Monty in The Times today, but of course that's subscription only. Anyone who perhaps buys the paper care to give a summary?"

borderman, you might be in a position to help here.

Per Cricinfo:   www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/885847.html

We are now getting close to a full understanding of why Panesar seems to have imploded. This article www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/dec/02/monty-panesar-england-cricket-speak-openly-mental-illness?CMP=share_btn_tw doesn't go into details and perhaps the details don't need to be itemised. The point is that the man has been ill, may be unwell again, is trying to find a balance. He can be frustrating to spectators and lord knows that it must be much worse for highly trained and very focused athletes to share a dressing room - and a playing field - with someone who can't find the same relief in simple sporting excellence, but let's not forget how very good he has been, and how for three years Sussex relied on and were propelled to the heights by his determination, his control, his drift and his understanding of the fallibilities of batsmen. Good luck Monty. We all need you.

"...he has wrestled with his illness in the past few years, his condition generally misunderstood by those who could only see the superficial outcomes."

One would assume that is a reference to Sussex? Those who were in charge of the cricket club at the time must ask themselves whether they can honestly say they dealt with somebody suffering from a mental illness in an humane and understanding way or if they were only concerned with the "superficial outcomes".

Many of us said at the time that we felt Panesar was being thrown to the wolves by Sussex  when he was most in need of the club's support, so the above comment is not being made with the benefit of hindsight in response to the Guardian article.

Intriguing idea that he could be employed by the ECB and then 'loaned out' to play county cricket...he certainly won't be asking to be loaned out to Sussex after he was so badly let down by those whose support he should have been able to rely on. And the way a certain figure high up in the club conspired with a certain cricinfo muck-raker to trash Panesar's reputation was despicable. Both of them should hang their heads in shame for kicking a man when he was not only down but also ill.

It was the same journalist, by the way, who made such a song and dance over Trott's breakdown and picked a fight with Michael Vaughan and others, furiously insisting that Trott didn't have an illness and it was merely "bun-out".

Bm,

I would be surprised the article is specifically referring to Sussex as the Club had dealt with Michael Yardy's depression in a compassionate
way - a way that was greatly praised by both supporters and the media.

Perhaps, Panesar's illness is not so much depression but alcohol-related? And "if" that is the case, more of attending AA meetings
and coming to terms with the person he actually is rather than the glorified cricketer once portrayed by the England fans and media.