Panesar will deputise for DeFreitas

There is a change of main speaker for next Friday's Spenser Wilson Halifax Cricket League dinner and prize presentation with Monty Panesar stepping in for Phillip DeFreitas.

By The Newsroom

Published 25th Nov 2018, 09:51 BST

Updated 25th Nov 2018, 10:55 BST

England's cricketer Monty Panesar attends a practice session ahead of their first test cricket match against Sri Lanka in Galle, about 120 kilometers south of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, March 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Former Leicestershire, Lancashire, Derbyshire and England player DeFreitas is unable to attend because his father is ill.

Panesar, born in Luton in 1982, played county cricket for Northamptonshire, Susses and Essex and won 50 Test caps for England and played in 26 one day internationals.

His latest involvement with Test cricket came in January 2017 when he was recruited as a spin-bowling consultant for Cricket Australia.

The 36-year-old slow left arm bowler appeared on Celebrity Masterchef this year but after struggling to cater for more than 100 members of the British Airways academy is not expected to venture near the kitchens at The Venue, Barkisland.