England remain happy to take Monty Panesar to Australia this winter despite more disciplinary trouble for the increasingly erratic left-arm spinner, who has been punished for kicking out in frustration during a recent CountyChampionship match.

Panesar, who was not considered when England chose Simon Kerrigan as a second spinner for the fifth Test of this summer's home Ashes series at The Oval as the result of his arrest for drunken misbehaviour outside a Brighton nightclub in August, has now been given a suspended one-match ban for "potentially threatening and intimidating" behaviour in Essex's home fixture against Worcestershire earlier this month.

But an England source confirmed that the national selector, Geoff Miller, was aware of the incident when he expressed his confidence that Panesar was tackling his problems, with help from the England and Wales Cricket Board, in announcing his recall last week. So he will still go to Australia at the end of next month as the reserve spinner to Graeme Swann although there will now be an even greater scrutiny of his behaviour on and off the field. Video footage shows Panesar, who was making only his third appearance for Essex after being abruptly released by Sussex following the Brighton incident, swinging his right leg extravagantly in the direction of Ross Whiteley after the left-handed batsman, who made 38 in Worcestershire's second innings, turned him quietly around the corner.

Panesar claimed that the kick was not directed at Whiteley but merely reflected his frustration. But Peter Willey, who was the senior umpire at the match, did not seem to have been convinced by that explanation as he had words in the middle with both Panesar and the Essex captain, James Foster, and then reported the incident to the ECB's discipline commission.

Significantly their ruling refers to "two incidents" in which Panesar's actions "were potentially threatening and intimidating towards a member of the opposition", leading them to issue a one-match ban which will be activated if he errs again at any stage of the 2014 season. So far he has yet to secure a contract for next summer, without which there would be questions over whether he could play international cricket.

His preferred option would be to stay with Essex, where he is said to have made a good impression both in the dressing room and with the supporters. Northamptonshire, his first county who had initially been favourites, have recently ruled themselves out of the running.

The Brighton incident, in which he was arrested for urinating in the direction of bouncers who had evicted him from a nightclub, cost Panesar the last two years of a lucrative deal with Sussex. On announcing his Ashes selection, Miller said: "Monty had his problems, which we've worked hard to rectify in the last six weeks – and he has too.

"He's a proven international bowler, who has shown what he's capable of doing on many occasions for us. He's very prepared to let his bowling do the talking for him, so I'm prepared to accept that. He's an experienced international player and it's up to him to actually produce the goods for us."