Panesar destined for greatness, feels Woolmer

London, July 31 (UNI) Monty Panesar's Old Trafford heroics may have failed to win over his own coach Duncan Fletcher but Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer is highly impressed and he tipped the Sikh spinner for greatness.

Panesar's 8-93 in the second Test against Pakistan, that included five frontline batsmen in the second innings, prompted Woolmer to predict that the youngster is destined for greatness.

''He's a fine bowler and is going to be a great bowler. He's a really good find for England,'' Woolmer told BBC Sport.

''If the wicket helps him he looks like he's going to bowl sides out,'' Woolmer added.

The Pakistan coach was especially impressed with the left-arm spinner's ability to do away with the controversial doosra and still beat the bat.

''He's got this lovely looping flight and his change of pace is very good.

''He beats people on both sides of the bat without a 'doosra', he's got a very good arm ball and bowls at a very good pace so people find it difficult to come down the pitch to him,'' observed Woolmer, who himself shared England dressing room with arguably theEngland's last great spinner.

''He bowled beautifully in the second innings and this will give him terrific encouragement.

''England will want to play him at Headingley (in the third Test starting on Friday) because he gets wickets.

''He did Mohammad Yousuf and that's something England haven't been able to do for some time. Myself and Yousuf will be sitting down and working out how we stop him,'' Woolmer explained.

Panesar removed Yousuf, who had scored 202 and 48 in the Lord's Test, in both the innings at Old Trafford.

Despite Fletcher being rather miser with his praise for the spinner, England's chairman of selectors David Graveney, a former spinner himself, was elated with Panesar's show, in tandem with pacer Steve Harmison, who took 11 wickets in the match.

''Throughout his Test career Monty has only every bowled at sub-continent batsmen, who are good players of spin, so it shows how well he is bowling,'' he said.

''The two of them combined very well. The key was building pressure at both ends and while Steve or Monty was taking wickets at one end the other was building pressure at the other,'' Graveney added.

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