• England v India, 1st Test, Lord's

Strauss shocked at Panesar's practice with Tendulkar

ESPN staff
July 21, 2011
Sachin Tendulkar was Monty Panesar's first Test wicket on his debut in 2006 © Getty Images
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Andrew Strauss has admitted he was unaware that England spinner Monty Panesar had been helping India batsman Sachin Tendulkar prepare for the first Test at Lord's.

Tendulkar, who has never scored better than 37 runs at Lord's, is chasing a 100th Test century, and Panesar spent time bowling at the batsman in the indoor nets at Lord's on Sunday.

Tendulkar did not play in India's tour of West Indies and has not played since the Indian Premier League in May. The 'Little Master' was Panesar's first Test wicket when he made his debut at Nagpur in 2006, and the pair have since become friends.

"If Monty did have a session in the nets with Sachin Tendulkar, it wasn't arranged by us and we weren't aware of it," Strauss told the Sun. "It must have been something he arranged privately through his own contacts."

Sussex cricket director Mark Robinson admitted the county were equally ignorant of the practice but insisted there was no conflict of interest.

"It was something arranged between themselves," he said. "Monty told me about it the next day. It was good for Monty - you must learn a lot bowling to someone like Tendulkar. It would have given him a boost.

"I don't think it is a problem for England - after all, they don't have a left-arm spinner likely to play in the series."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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