ESSEX dropped spinner Monty Panesar for their County Championship division two match against Glamorgan at Chelmsford after the England international failed to turn up for a team meeting.

Panesar, 32, had been selected in the side’s starting eleven but failed to arrive for a team meeting before the start of play yesterday.

Coach Paul Grayson and skipper James Foster decided that Panesar’s poor time-keeping warranted discipline and dropped him for the game, giving Tom Craddock a start in his place.

The club later released a statement, saying: “Essex Cricket can confirm that Monty Panesar has been disciplined by the club after breaching team rules for time-keeping.

“Panesar has subsequently been dropped from the playing squad for the County Championship match versus Glamorgan.

“He will available for team selection for the following T20 Blast match on Friday against Surrey.”

Panesar is no stranger to trouble.

He arrived at Essex, his third county after spells at Northamptonshire and Sussex, after an incident in Brighton which made national headlines.

The spinner was fined for urinating in public near a nightclub in Brighton which led to his release from Sussex.

Essex originally signed him on loan at the back end of last season where he did enough to show England selectors he deserved a place on the ill-fated Ashes tour to Australia over the winer.

But although there had been no incidents off the field at Essex until now, Panesar has attracted attention on it.

Last September he was given a suspended one-match ban by the England and Wales Cricket Board after accepting a charge of misconduct following a heated confrontation with Worcestershire batsman Ross Whitley.

Then early this season, Panesar was involved in a verbal altercation with former Essex batsman Billy Godleman who now plays for Derbyshire, with the umpires having to get involved to calm him down.

It appears unlikely that Panesar, who has played 49 Tests, will be recalled to the England Test team for their two-match series against Sri Lanka on June 12.