Graeme Swann eager to take Pakistan in the upcoming Test series
England’s promising Northampton spinner Graeme Swann is eager to take Pakistan side in the Test series that would start later this month. Pakistan is one of the three test playing nations Swann has not yet played against and is eager to test his capacities against the visitors.
The leading spinner is focusing on the bigger picture where England would take on Pakistan in four match test series followed by ODIs and T20 internationals.
“I’m very much looking forward to it. We don’t get the chance to go to Pakistan anymore, so we’ve got to make it count when we play them”.
Both England and Pakistan has not faced off in the longest form of the cricket since 2006 series. Security issues did not let England or any other cricket team visit Pakistan in the last couple of years. Though the Lankan’s tried to be brave enough by touring Pakistan in early 2009, but the militant attacks on the Sri Lankan players later on made them go home with an unfinished Test series.
31 years old Graeme Swann is well aware of the renowned unpredictable nature of Pakistan’s cricket team. Swann is also mindful of the major losses that Pakistan has caused to the English team in the past including the cost paid in 1992 World Cup and the World T20 Championship 2009. The English spinner said that Pakistan is a fiddly team and is hard to calculate them.
“They’re a very tricky team to predict. They can be red hot or freezing cold. Hopefully we’ll get them on a cold day because when they’re good they’re very good,” said Swann.
Swann further added that it is quite difficult to predict how the neutral test series between Australia and Test starved team of Pakistan would affect the coming test series between England and Pakistan. He said that a win in any of the two test matches would make the coming test series more interesting but Swann at the same time predicted that Ponting’s men would not let the new-look Pakistan side win any test match.
“It depends on how they do in these Tests in regards whether it will affect us. If they win one of them then it could interesting. But Australia might be able to soften them up for us,” anticipated Swann
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 than Pakistan.
The leading English spinner remained busy with the mundane tasks this week rather than playing in the nets for the upcoming series.
Swann has spent his week busying himself with some of the more mundane tasks in life, but that is something he has been grateful for.
“It’s nice to put your feet up and keep things ticking over. I’ve been fishing, and got through loads of jobs my wife’s left me - cleaning out spare rooms and the likes, so it’s not been all enjoyable! But it’s good to get away”.
The Northampton off-spinner has taken 91 test wickets in just 20 Tests. Out of these 91, 54 wickets came in a single calendar of 2009. The six feet stylish English bowler has reached the figures playing lesser matches than the finest English spinner Derek Underwood, who took in 23 matches. Swann needs just nine more wickets to become the 43rd English bowler to overtake the 100 mark. The promising all-rounder said that he doesn’t know the exact figures of Shane Warne but it would be nice for him to achieve that record.
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