A dangerous leave in seaming conditions - Opinion
It is not surprising that England’s success in the Test arena has a lot to do with the array of top quality players they have had at their disposal. Many of their Test match triumphs which include Ashes Test victories have come from the efforts of a bowler
who is known to make the ball talk when it matters. Graeme Swann’s 188 wickets in 45 Test matches at an average of 29 have come in times when England most desperately needed to win against tough oppositions. In the Investec Series of 2012, England trail South
Africa by one game in a three match series and find themselves in a quagmire in an all important Test match here in Headingley. What makes matters worse is that the English actually had the audacity to leave a player like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GP-Swann-c1501 out who was bound to
make an impact one way or the other.
The overcast conditions, a seaming wicket and the need to bounce South Africa back to their barracks is what England aims to achieve and exploit in this all important Test match. With http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 comfortably posed at 419 all out in their first innings and
leading England by 371 runs at the end of the second day’s play, Graeme Swann is being sorely missed in many ways. The conditions may not be tailor made for the off spinner, but given his seniority in the side along with his wealth of experience, not playing
him in the final 11 is a cardinal sin.
Tim Bresnan’s http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 with variety in their seemingly one dimensional attack, but would have also tested the South African batsmen in
a unique way. As was the case at the Oval, batsmen such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GC-Smith-c1473 had a natural propensity to play Swann for his spin by aiming to negate it with their bat and pad. On a far more placid wicket, psychologically, South Africa could have been snared by
making the ball turn less significantly and eliciting a mistake. Swann also has an array of tricks in his bag and given his lower order batting prowess, England have been dealt with a major psychological blow in this Test series.
It is understandable that a bowler such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Harold-William-Stephenson-c61707 Finn had to play on a track as hostile as Headingley and his ability to extract significant bounce and lateral movement had made him indispensable. Yet leaving out someone as prominent and promising as Swann
is something that England could ill afford at a stage where their ranking is at stake.
Australia’s reliance on http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saeed-Ajmal-c87859 for example, was and is so paramount that leaving these players in light of the nature of the conditions would be fallacious to say the least. What makes matters worse for England
is that the Headingley pitch has actually shown signs of minimal turn, where http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imran-c64193 Tahir managed to extract some purchase off a wicket not known to be conducive to spin bowling. If a bowler like Tahir could extract such momentous spin at the Oval and continues
to do so at a minimal level at Headingley, then excluding Swann is bound to pinch England more.
Add to that the experience which it takes to bowl in conditions which are hostile for spinners, Swanny’s absence would raise further questions about what the selectors had in mind.
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