Panesar prepares for new start at Sussex

There are currently four England spinners on their tours of Bangladesh and UAE, but none of them are Monty Panesar which shows how far his star has fallen. Instead, Panesar has finally been unveiled at his new county, Sussex, four months after joining them from Northamptonshire in an attempt to revitalise a stalling career.

Graeme Swann is now England's No. 1 spinner and his deputy in Bangladesh is James Tredwell, while the slow-bowling places in the England Lions squad are with Adil Rashid and David Wainwright. Panesar spent part of his winter overseas, but the nearest he got to the national set-up was when he helped in the nets before the final Test in Johannesburg in January. Instead he was with the Lions franchise in South Africa in an effort to recapture his form after managing a paltry 18 wickets at 59.44 in 13 Championship matches in 2009.

His last appearance for England came against Australia, at Cardiff, where he famously helped save the Test alongside James Anderson as the final pair survived 69 balls. It would ultimately play a vital part in England regaining the Ashes, but Panesar's bowling had fallen away badly over the preceding six months. A lot of advice was throw his way, but it only seemed to make the situation worse and part of the reasoning behind his winter away from the spotlight was to allow him to think for himself.

Panesar's stint in South Africa ended with 15 wickets at 39.06 which doesn't appear an unqualified success, but he has returned to England feeling far happier with life than he had for much of last year and how his focus is on making an impact with Sussex.

"It was an opportunity for me to play cricket elsewhere which will hopefully help me become the successful international cricketer that I want to be," he told Cricinfo. "I haven't really focussed on how or where I am with England, I just tried to go to the Lions and give myself the best chance to come to Sussex in form. I feel this is the second phase of my career now which will give me a good kick start and I'm just concentrating on making as good a start as possible."

Dave Nosworthy, the Lions coach, said how he had tried to give Panesar the freedom to express himself while also giving him the opportunity to mentor the franchise's young spinners. Nosworthy's view was Panesar could still become more proactive as a bowler and how Michael Yardy, the Sussex captain, handles his new bowler will give an indication of the responsibility on Panesar's shoulders.

"You have to learn and develop and the best way to do that is to play in different conditions, learning how different players play, and I think my time with the Lions enabled me to do that," Panesar said. "I got the opportunity to help coach the youngsters over there and it was something I enjoyed, passing some knowledge onto other players. And being part of Sussex here it's something I would like to do as well when and where I can."

Panesar's only played first-class cricket during the winter, but Sussex's success last season came in the one-day game as they were relegated in the Championship. While he is likely to be eased into the season with four-day cricket, Panesar is eager to play a part in all formats but knows success may not come straight away.

"Last year Sussex had a phenomenal one-day season and that's something I want to develop in my game because I feel when I'm bowling at my best I can have an impact in all formats," he said. "I think come the one-day cricket and Twenty20 games I can add some value to their side. It may take me time to settle, but hopefully later in the summer when the pitches are drier I can have some impact."