Old Trafford specialist Monty Panesar is hoping that the Manchester grounds men are raking the wicket because he feels Australia's batsmen are vulnerable against the spinning ball, as he took an impressive 3-70 for Sussex in the three-day Australian tour match.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Panesar has been called into England's 14-man squad for the third Test starting on Thursday and having watched the carnage his slow-bowling colleague Graeme Swann was able to cause in the second Test at Lord's, he is eager for another shot at Australia this week, imploring England to play the both of them.
The spinner said that the Australian team was a very competitive team and they were going to come back hard, but with spin there was an opportunity.
Panesar's record at Old Trafford speaks for itself and he has taken 25 wickets in three Tests at the ground, at an average of 16, including a 10-wicket collection for the match against West Indies in 2007 and 6-37 against New Zealand a year a later, the report said.