Windies hatch plan to combat Panesar

LEEDS, England, May 24 (Reuters) West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan said today his team have worked out a plan to combat the threat of England's left-arm spinner Monty Panesar.

Panesar, 25, has made his mark in test cricket since making his debut last year and took 6-129 in West Indies' first innings at Lord's.

West Indies know they will need to play him more confidently if they are to enjoy any success in the second test at Headingley from Friday. The first test was drawn.

Sarwan, who is leading the West Indies in his first series since replacing the retired Brian Lara as captain this month, indicated their plans have been inspired by world champions Australia.

''It's very important we play positively against Panesar,'' Sarwan said. ''He was quite new to most of us; we hadn't seen much of him before Lord's.

''He didn't get many wickets with the turning ball; it was his arm ball. We hope to have some sort of plan for him in this game; we should have a better feel of him this time.

''One of the things we will try to do is try to stay on top of their main bowlers. We saw when Australia played them they were very positive against Harmison and kind of threw him off.

We have a similar sort of approach.'' West Indies will play four tests and a five-match one-day series on their two-month England tour.

REUTERS RN BST255