IT has been a long road from the valleys to the desert, but Monty Panesar kept the faith and claimed just reward with his 40th Test cap for England .

There was a wicket too, albeit at the second time of asking, in 33 overs of toil for the 29-year-old on day one of the second Test at the Zayed Stadium.

Panesar could not stop Pakistan reaching 256-7 by stumps – Notts pair Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann did most of the damage with the ball, sharing the other six wickets between them.

But had James Anderson clung on to a sharp catch at slip off the slow left-armer, Misbah-ul-Haq's unbeaten 83 would have been a mere 30.

That miss, the most costly of four by England, encapsulated a day which might have been so much better for the tourists as they seek to battle back in this second match of three after their hammering in Dubai last week.

But none of that context could detract from what it all meant to Panesar, back in the Test fold for the first time since July 2009 – when he played such a heroic role with bat rather than ball to salvage a hugely-significant last-ditch Ashes draw in Cardiff.

His resistance there helped to pave the way for a series victory which bred confidence in the Andrew Strauss-Andy Flower axis of captain and coach who would lead England to the top of the ICC world rankings.

On a pitch which favoured spin over seam as expected, they called on him again – and Panesar was delighted, if a little tense, after learning of his involvement just a few minutes before the toss.

"I only found out in the morning. I was really excited, and the nervous energy started to build up," he said.

"I was a bit nervous, making my second debut after being out for such a long time."

The anticipation of impending fulfilment would have been too much, had he been told 24 hours earlier.

"I might have been awake all night, trying to practise my action in front of the mirror – so it avoided me doing that,"

Panesar has a familiar ally to bowl with, his old Northamptonshire team-mate Swann having made such a name for himself for England.

"I was delighted to bowl in tandem with my spin twin, Swanny," he said.

"I'm enjoying that – ball spinning away, ball turning in creates quite a lot of pressure among different batsmen – and we help each other.

"It can be very effective. We see each other as partners."

But what of that moment when Misbah's edge slipped through Anderson's grasp?

Panesar is mature enough these days to know that top players simply cannot allow such setbacks to get to them.

"These kind of things happen," he said. "He's batted well, and you've just got to put these things behind you."