Being an England cricketer does not often come without its controversies. And it’s safe to say Monty Panesar has had his fair share.
The cricket hero has hit the spotlight once again after announcing he will be standing for the George Galloway’s Workers’ Party at the next General Election.
He wants to be the MP for Southall and has even signalled his hopes of one day becoming Prime Minister in an announcement sure to delight some cricket fans, who see him as a cult hero.
But by launching himself into back into the limelight, Panesar has not only spurred people to reminisce about his England cricket heroics, but also incidents from his problematic past that he may wish to forget.
And some of the highs and lows of the beloved spin bowler’s career as well as his troubles outside his time on the crease sound like he might fit in just fine with some of Westminster’s more lively characters.
Former England cricketer Monty Panesar give speech at George Galloway workers party on Parliament Square on Tuesday
Monty Panesar in action during a County Championship game between Essex and Northamptonshire at Castle Park on August 20, 2013
Monty pictured on the set of Dancing on Ice in crutches after crashing onto the ice during training and breaking his ankle
Panesar is not lacking in terms of career highlights, with 50 international test appearances, between 2006 and 2013.
During this time he took a whopping 167 Test wickets and also helped England towards two historic ashes wins in 2009 and 2011.
Two years after his debut against India in January 2006, Panesar was selected for a three-Test series against New Zealand, where he achieved his best single innings figures to date of 6/37 during the second match at Old Trafford.
His phenomenal bowling helped England win the game by six wickets and an overall 2-0 win in the Test series, with the then 26-year-old also named player of the match.
But it was in that 2009 ashes win on home soil that saw Panesar’s ‘finest hour’ in an England cricket shirt, when he and and James Anderson combined to deny Australia a 1-0 lead in Cardiff.
When the two tail-enders came together, the home team were staring at an innings defeat but instead of seeing the last rites, the crowd witnessed a startling feat of defiance as the pair saw out 11.3 overs over 38 minutes.
Monty later told The Mirror in 2021, that that moment was his biggest career highlight. When asked for his favourite Ashes memory, he said: ‘It’s got to be the Cardiff Test match, that’s my finest hour in an England shirt!
‘I didn’t expect to draw that Test match but somehow these kinds of miracles happen! It was brilliant to play in such a big series and draw that Test match.
‘It created momentum for the England team and we went on to win the series.’
Monty Panesar bowls during day two of the First Test between India and England at the VCA Stadium on March 2, 2006
Monty Panesar poses for photographers following a press conference at Lord’s cricket ground, on January 27, 2006
Monty Panesar celebrates a wicket during the third day of the 2nd Test Match between England and New Zealand at Old Trafford Cricket Ground on May 25, 2008
James Anderson and Monty Panesar walk off after securing the draw during day five of the 1st Ashes Test Match between England and Australia in Cardiff on July 12, 2009
Graeme Swann shares a joke with Monty Panesar during an England nets session at The Wanderers Cricket Ground in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2011
A year after the momentus win, the sportsman married his wife of three years Gursharan Rattan in a traditional Sikh ceremony and the couple moved to Hove in East Sussex when he signed a three-year contract to play for Sussex.
But problems in their marriage soon began to show and he was arrested by police after reports of an argument with his wife in a pub car park in January 2011, the same month England defeated Australia 3-1 at home in the Ashes.
Panesar was interviewed by police before being released without charge.
The couple divorced in 2013 despite Monty doing ‘everything he could to make it work’, with pharmacist Rattan, saying he had behaved in such a way during the 2011 incident that she no longer wanted to live with him.
The devout Sikh, who is meant to abstain from alcohol under the Sikh code of conduct, later admitted he began drinking that same year, with one drunken night landing him in controversy.
The spin bowler was forced to apologise after being fined £90 for his drunken antics at a nightclub in Brighton in August 2013 during which he urinated on a bouncer.
He was thrown out of the Shooshh nightclub on Brighton seafront after a group of young women complained that he was bothering them.
He is believed to have then gone on to the promenade above the club and relieved himself on the doormen below.
Witnesses said the bouncers gave chase and cornered the cricketer in a pizza restaurant, where he was heard shouting ‘Help! Help!’, before he was put in an arm lock and dragged back to the venue.
The cricketer, who lived in nearby Hove, was detained for 45 minutes before the police arrived and issued him with a £90 spot fine for being drunk and disorderly.
He was also dropped by his county club Sussex, which announced his contract would not be renewed at the end of the season, following the incident.
The England cricket team after they defeated Australia 3-1 in the Ashes series following the 5th Test match in Sydney on January 7, 2011
Monty Panesar boxes with head coach Peter Moores during the England nets session at Edgbaston, Birmingham
Monty Panesar practices his ball control during an England nets session at Galle International Cricket Stadium on March 24, 2012
Monty Panesar is seen being manhandled by nightclub bouncers after he was ejected from Shoosh nightclub in Brighton for drunken behaviour in 2013
Monty Panesar is kicking out in the direction of opposition batsman, Worcestershire’s Ross Whitely while bowling for Essex in 2013
Panesar’s spokesman said he did not dispute being fined for his drunken antics and added that he wanted to express his ‘unreserved apologies for any offence caused by his behaviour’.
Friends of the star claimed at the time the incident was a result of his heartbreak over the breakdown of his marriage.
A source told The Mirror: ‘Monty was devastated by the breakdown of his marriage and is still coming to terms with his recent divorce. His personal struggles have been a direct result of that.
‘He did everything he could to make it work,’ said the source. But ultimately he felt there were some insurmountable family issues and this became an increasingly difficult factor within the marriage. He is still sad that they couldn’t make it work.’
In a statement at the time Monty said: ‘I have endured a challenging time this year off the field. My frustrations have sometimes got the better of me. I apologise for letting the club, my colleagues and my fans down.’
Although, his downward spiral continued as Panesar hit the headlines again just two months later when he received a suspended ban for ‘potentially threatening and intimidating’ behaviour during a loan spell with Essex.
He was forced to apologise once more after he came close to connecting with Worcestershire batsman Ross Whiteley twice, as he aimed frustrated kicks at the turf during a County Championship match.
Despite the incident, which earned Panesar a one-match ban suspended until the end of the next season, he was still named by England selectors in their 17-man Ashes squad.
Panesar had already said sorry to England following his altercation with the Brighton bouncers, travelling to Stratford to apologise in person to team director Andy Flower and also contacting captain Alastair Cook.
It was understood the selectors did not regard the mishap as serious enough to call his Ashes place into question.
England Cricket Team Captain Alastair Cook and Monty Panesar arrive at Heathrow Airport on December 18, 2012
Monty Panesar pictured in conversation with cricket analyst and former England captain Nasser Hussain in 2014
(From left to right) James Foster, Monty Panesar, David Masters, Reece Topley and Tymal Mills enjoy an ice cream after the Essex County Cricket Club photocall in 2014
Monty Panesar fails to stop a four during day three of the second Test match between New Zealand and England on March 16, 2013
England’s 2013 Ashes squad. (From left to right) Boyd Rankin, Steven Finn, Michal Carberry, Jonathan Trott, Monty Panesar, Ben Stokes, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Alastair Cook, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Jonathan Bairstow, Joe Root, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett
The Ashes series in Australia was Panesar’s last international series, which ended in a humiliating 5-0 defeat for England. .
Panesar continued his domestic career and went on to sign a two year contract with Essex in 2014 before being released by the club at the end of 2015 season.
He returned to play for Northamptonshire in 2016 and has not played professionally since leaving the club later that year.
In 2017, Monty had another shot at stardom as he was announced to be taking part in the reboot of ITV’s Dancing on Ice.
However, the former England cricketer was forced to end his time on the show before it even began airing after crashing onto the ice during training and breaking his ankle. He was replaced by singer Lemar Obika.
Although never formally announcing retirement, after leaving cricket he went on the study sports journalism at St Mary’s University, London, and is currently a freelance journalist and writer.
However, in December it was announced that he had signed with the East Anglian Premier League side Great Witchingham, in Norfolk for their 2024 campaign.
And most recently, Monty has been in the headlines once more, as he is set to make a suprising move into the political world.
Workers’ Party boss George Galloway revealed the news that the legendary spinner will be standing as an MP in Southall for the next general election during an LBC interview on Tuesday morning.
In his first interview on the subject Panesar told MailOnline that he is sick of watching the ‘average Joe’ in society struggle the most under both Conservative and Labour historic leaderships, adding that ‘it is time for a change’.
Monty Panesar pictured in a promotional photo for ITV’s Dancing on Ice TV series in 2017
Monty Panesar throws a boomerang during a team visit to Uluru, which is also known as Ayers Rock, in Australia on November 26, 2013
(From left to right) Monty Panesar, Tim Bresnan, Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott, Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and Steven Finn attend the World Premiere of cricket documentary The Edge in 2019
Monty Panesar (back right) attends a news conference with George Galloway M.P. on Parliament Square in central London
Leader of the Workers Party of Britain George Galloway (right) looks on as former England cricketer Monty Panesar addresses fellow party candidates in Parliament Square on April 30
He said: ‘They are not getting fair treatment and I’m tired of seeing the poorest people in the country being affected the most.
‘They are people and their voices are not being heard.
‘I want to stand for the working class people, the workers of our country, to make their lives easier.
‘I am confident I will win and I’m looking forward to it.’
When pressed on what drew him to the Workers’ Party he argued that both Labour and the Conservatives were simply ‘not helping’, and instead were pushing ‘the gap between the rich and the poor’ making it ‘bigger and bigger.’
And Monty has wasted no time in making some of his policies widely known, including his distaste with London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ scheme.
He told The Standard on Tuesday: ‘I want to get rid of Ulez because Ulez actually affects the poorer people, it affects small-sized businesses.
‘I don’t think that is good. And I also want to see a referendum on net zero.
‘Is it really sustainable, who are the people who are really profiteering from this?
‘Because I’ll tell you who it affects. It affects the poor people in this country.’
While he will leave the talking about Israel and Palestine and Nato to Mr Galloway, after claiming he was ‘not an expert on foreign policy’, Monty wants to focus his campaign on the British people.
He said: ‘Let George worry about the foreign policy stuff. I’m not an expert on that. I want to make a difference in this country.
‘I want to see a difference in border control. I don’t want to see illegal migration going to deprived areas where the resources then get absolutely saturated.’
Mr Panesar also wanted to introduce free school meals in state schools across the UK, expanding Mr Khan’s current policy, which currently only covers schools in London.
The announcement came just two months after Galloway won the Rochdale by-election with a hardline pro-Palestinian stance.
The firebrand politician is also set to announce a further 200 candidates who will stand for his party, including a former UKIP member of the European parliament.
