Panesar pulled from Sri Lanka to join performance squad

The ECB has confirmed Monty Panesar will travel with the England Performance Programme squad instead of spending a month in Sri Lanka playing club cricket.

The England board dismissed suggestions it was being unreasonable in refusing demands for £7500 from Bloomfield CC in return for them fielding Panesar in some matches ahead of England's India tour.

The plan had been that Panesar would spend a month in Sri Lanka with the club to help him acclimatise to pitches on the subcontinent. But the deal seems to have fallen through after the ECB refused to agree to terms put forward by Bloomfield.

The ECB said it had originally agreed to Bloomfield's initial request for £500 as a contribution towards the rebuilding of their clubhouse. However, on the eve of the deal, it claims that Bloomfield asked for an additional £7000 as well as an agreement that Panesar would carry out some PR duties on the club's behalf in Colombo.

"It's disappointing that these late demands have emerged because Panesar was really looking forward to this opportunity to play in Sri Lanka," an ECB spokesman said.

Panesar's preparations will now involve a high performance camp in India, scheduled from mid-November, ahead of England's two Tests in the country in December.