CRICKETING crowds have begun to see Monty Panesar as a figure of fun in the field, but his fumbles may be over.

It turns out that the England bowler began the season with the wrong prescription for one contact lens, and Northamptonshire, his county, believe that the full effects of a new look will soon be seen.

Barry Goudriaan, the club physiotherapist, thought Panesar lacked sharpness during one-to-one training sessions and took him to a sports clinic in London on May 16, the day after the first Test against Sri Lanka. Tests showed he had the wrong lens for his left eye.

“The dominant eye had to work overtime and became tired,” Mr Goudriaan said. “That is when your hand-eye co-ordination starts to go down. I noticed he did not seem to be 100 per cent.

“They realised that his left eye was slightly awry. They gave him new lenses immediately. Eyes are muscles and they take a couple of weeks or so to adjust, so hopefully by now he will be all right. It takes more than that to take or drop a catch, but it may be a factor.”

Kepler Wessels, the Northamptonshire coach, hopes that Panesar’s confidence will grow when he begins to hold catches. “His fielding has dogged him through his career,” Wessels said. “He works endlessly on it.”

When England convened yesterday, Panesar spent time with David Parsons, the England and Wales Cricket Board spin-bowling coach, before official practice, and stayed late for a fielding session.

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