Panesar victim of captain-coach feud, says county coach

Turbulent dressing room atmosphere owing to the infamous captain-coach feud was one of the main reasons for decline of English star spinner Monty Panesar, believes his county coach David Capel.

The Northamptonshire county head coach felt Panesar failed to impress in the two-Test series in India and was then dropped after the first Test in Jamaica because of unpleasant dressing room atmosphere created by the differences between former captain Kevin Pietersen and coach Peter Moores, who was later sacked.

"There has been a very disruptive period of time in the England dressing room. I wonder at times whether that has been a contributory factor (to Panesar's performances). When it wasn't so disruptive, Monty was doing well," said the head coach of Northamptonshire county.

"I'm not going to say what I think Monty needs as an individual, but I'm aware how he ticks and what gets the best out of him. For any cricketer it is an advantage to have a stable existence within the dressing room - anyone would thrive on that," the former England all rounder was quoted as saying by the 'Daily Telegraph'.

Capel also said too much was being made of lack of variation in Panesar's bowling and added the Indian-origin bowler was working on his "dynamite stock ball".

"Since he's been with us we've seen Monty really tuned in about his game. I believe he's back in a position where he should be involved with England. I've budgeted for him to leave us on May 3 to play in the first Test," Capel said.

"He's been practicing all the different variations - arm ball, changing his angle of delivery. But more importantly, he's been practicing that dynamite stock ball, the one that pitches on middle stump and hits the top of off," he added.

"What he has bowled so far has got him to over 120 (Test) wickets in very quick time. It would be very churlish to ignore."

Meanwhile, Panesar attributed his recall for the third Test against the West Indies to England's interim coach Andy Flower, who worked closely with him after he returned home midway through the Carribean tour.

"I was pleased with how the last Test went, apart from the result. I'd been out for a couple of Test matches and managed to work a bit more closely with Andy Flower, a world-class player of spin," the 26-year-old said.

"All the best spinners are very adept at making the right tactical decisions. And I think when we got to the last Test my variation of speed was much greater."