Graeme Swann takes praise as it comes
England’s number one spinner, Graeme Swann, is on cloud nine following the praise retired legend Shane Warne heaped on him.
The 31-year-old off spinner is ranked the best spinner in world cricket, an achievement he reached after a forgettable debut back in 1999. Since making his comeback in 2007, he has had a superb run of
form. It’s no surprise he is being viewed as a major component in the England squad as the English look to take on the Aussies in the battle for Ashes supremacy.
Australian spin legend Shane Warne has singled him out as the man to watch out for. Swann is extremely pleased by Warne’s kind compliments. But the spinner from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Nottinghamshire-c826 only wishes that he could
have played better during Warne’s playing days in county cricket.
“It is really nice of Warne to have said so many pleasant things about me. It means a lot since it is being said by the best bowler the world has ever seen. However, I feel disappointed that I couldn’t
do well while playing against him. I remember I bowled junk when Warne was my opponent some five years ago. Still, it’s great that he recalls me. I don’t think he had any reason to, given my atrocious bowling."
England hasn’t won the coveted trophy Down Under in close to 25 years. While Swann is aware of the huge challenge ahead of him and his team, he is at present focusing on the practise games. He’s already
got a glimpse of what to expect on the Australian wickets.
Having required as many as 50 overs to claim five wickets across two innings in England's hard-fought win over Western Australia, the off-spinner admits that the Ashes would be nothing less than a major
career test for him.
Apart from Sydney, Swann believes that there won’t be a lot in terms of help for him and the other spinners. However, he maintains that he is ready to work hard for his wickets and even curb his naturally
attacking ways of bowling if that benefits the team.
"To be frank, I don’t think we will be playing on massive turners. But, I am ready to be patient and buy my wickets. I am prepared to do whatever works best for the team."
There were definite positives for Swann as he got sharper, as the three-day game against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Western-Australia-c865 progressed. He will look to improve further in the second tour game, which will be played against
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Australia-c844 in Adelaide, starting on Thursday, 11 November.
“Actually, for the first two days, in the game against WA, my back was terribly stiff. And, I expected it since I hadn’t played any kind of competitive cricket for as much as six weeks. But, now I am feeling
much better,” admitted Swann.
Swann is also pleased with the use of the decision review system in international and feels it’s a great help, especially when it comes to leg before wicket decisions.
"It is a great aid for off-spinners like me, who otherwise would have lost out on a lot of genuine lbws,” Swann candidly confessed.
Betting advice
Warne is correct in suggesting that England's success in Australia will depend a lot on how well Swann can bowl against an aggressive Australian batting line up. Swann is always going to be a candidate
to take five wickets in any game because he has all of the variations and skill a spinner needs to do well.
Also have a punt on him being the highest English wicket taker throughout the Ashes series.
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