London: Monty 'Panestar' was unequivocally declared the hero of the first day's cricket in Perth by the British press, after Ashes debutant Panesar claimed five wickets on the first day of the third cricket Test against Australia.

Both The Sun tabloid and its counterpart the Daily Mirror ran their back-page match reports under the same headline 'Monty Panestar', with both declaring that the spin bowler's magnificent first day could lead to the eventual sacking of England coach Duncan Fletcher.

Fletcher declined to select Panesar for the first two Tests of the five Test series, both Australian victories.

Writing in the Daily Mail, Panesar himself conceded his jubilation, noting that he celebrated his first Ashes wicket with a crazy running, dancing routine.

His exuberance was also noted in The Guardian, which wrote,"As Monty Panesar charged down the pitch to celebrate his first wicket in an Ashes match yesterday, he could not have been more lit up had he been festooned with a set of Diwali lights and plugged into the mains."

"Never has joy been more obviously and deservedly unconfined," he said.

The Times wasted no time in anointing the bowler as the next hero of English cricket  it labelled him a 'superstar' on its back page.

It didn't stop there, with its match report noting that"Monty Panesar returned to the England side he should never have left" on what it described as an exhilarating opening day.

The Independent also put Panesar in lofty company, when it wrote in its match report: "It was a remarkable effort. (Australian spin bowler Shane) Warne has played 11 Tests at his venue, and is yet to take a five-for.
 

"Panesar managed it at the first attempt."Top players have the happy knack of performing well after they have been doubted and Panesar has once again proved he is a top cricketer," he said.

The Sun's match report exuded hope for English success in a series that most of the British press had all but conceded as lost.

 'Monty Panesar delivered the performance the nation was demanding and applied a fresh spark to the dying embers of the Ashes," he said.

"Panesar captures 5-92 on the opening day of the Third Test and made a mockery of his absence from the first two matches," he said.

The Daily Telegraph picked up on that theme, with its match report reading.

 "Humble pie cannot have been quite as indigestible as it was in parts of England's dressing room, after Monty Panesar's first bowl in an Ashes Test turned into a tour de force," he said.

"While team-mates mobbed and hoisted Panesar aloft every time he took a wicket, TV cameras trained on Fletcher showed England's coach, one of two selectors on tour along with Andrew Flintoff, as impassive as ever," he said.