Matt Parkinson made his long-awaited Test debut in England 's five-wicket win over New Zealand at Lord's, getting drafted into the side as a concussion replacement for Jack Leach.
The 25-year-old bowled 15.3 overs in New Zealand's second innings, picking up the final wicket of Tim Southee as he ended with figures of 1-47. And it was a creditable return for Parkinson after debuting in difficult circumstances, having made a last-minute dash down to Lord's after not playing red-ball cricket for around two weeks to bowl against the World Test Champions on a pitch that offered so little assistance to the spinners that opposite number Ajaz Patel only bowled two overs in the match.
Although Leach has been deemed fit enough to return to the side for the second Test at Trent Bridge, England are set to play three Tests in Pakistan this winter and Parkinson is likely to be afforded more opportunity in the subcontinent.
And former England spinner Monty Panesar believes Parkinson will need to make some adjustments to his game when he gets another chance in the Test team. In a column for the Telegraph, Panesar advised the leg-spinner to try and generate more pace and lower his bowling arm.
"Everyone has their own methods, but when I bowled at my best, I managed to get the ball drift late in the arc of my flight and my bowling arm slightly lower," Panesar wrote.
"If he can lower his arm that will help to use more body and hip action in his bowling. At the moment his bowling arm is so high, all the pace is being generated from his arm and wrist.
"In county cricket, we have seen Parkinson pick up wickets with real 'magic' deliveries - batsmen left bamboozled by the turn he generates and his variations. But international cricket is a different beast and he must find a way to add more pace to his bowling if he wants the prize wicket of top-order batsmen.
"Parkinson's average speed in the first Test was 45.8mph - the slowest recorded by CricViz since their records began in 2006, and he needs to add a few clicks to that at Trent Bridge." Panesar also believes the last-minute circumstances of Parkinson's debut did not help.
"First Tests are never easy, and nerves can eat away at you - all the more so when you get an unexpected call-up, as Parkinson did in the wake of Jack Leach's concussion," Panesar added. "Parkinson wasn't impressive at Lord's and wasn't a major threat to New Zealand's batsmen but let's not write him off."
