Swann wanted to pull out of ODI series against Pakistan
Whilst it was Pakistan that bore the brunt of the match and spot fixing scandal that threatened their tour of England. It was the hosts that came in the spot light in the last stage of the series when Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman,
Ijaz Butt, claimed that the hosts had thrown away the third ODI for a big sum of money.
Butt sparked a new controversy that left the English players fuming and they wanted to pull out of the last two matches at Lords and Southampton.
One of those was spinner, Graeme Swann, who had an outstanding series with the ball, after claiming seven wickets in the two matches. Swann revealed that he had no desire to take part in the matches and it was only on the insistence
of his captain Andrew Strauss that he took the field.
"I couldn't wait for those games to end and get the h**l out of there. It was a dreadful experience and one I never want to experience again", Swann told the British media.
He added that there was absolutely no motivation before the start of the match at Lords. "In fact, I didn't want to play at all in the one-dayer on Monday. I won't lie about that - I was dead against playing. And I wasn't alone, plenty
of other players had strong reservations”.
He had special praise in store for Strauss who like Swann enjoyed a great run in the five match series that was won by the hosts 3-2 to cap off an incredibly successful season.
"But Straussy, who has been brilliant throughout this episode, persuaded us the best thing we could do was getting on with it as a team and make sure we won the series. He was proved to be right".
Swann added that the English players were rightly aggrieved with the statements made by the PCB Chief, he added that it was beyond belief that a cricket administrator as seasoned as Butt would indulge in such absurdities.
"I want to say I agree 100 per cent with the decision to send a letter on behalf of the England team demanding an apology from PCB chairman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128. If we do not receive a satisfactory response, we will start legal proceedings",
Swann said. "Mr Butt's comments about bookmakers claiming we deliberately lost the third one-dayer in return for 'enormous amounts of money' were as offensive as they could possibly be. They went against everything I stand for as a professional sportsman”.
Swann wants strict action against the aging Butt, who has been at the centre of one controversy after another in two tumultuous years at the helm of PCB.
He added that the players had urged the English Cricket Board to get to the depth of the problem and clear the name of the players once for all.
Swann claimed a total of 11 wickets at a measly average of 19 runs per wicket, to follow his success in the Test and T20 format where he had the visitors in a spin.
"We felt powerless as players because as soon as somebody says something like that and it is read by cricket followers, our name is sullied. You can't go around accusing people and pointing fingers with completely unsubstantiated claims.
In the civilized world, it is not something that should happen. I hope Mr Butt sees sense and retracts his claims or there must be severe consequences for him".
It remains to be seen as to what the outcome of this latest chapter in the controversy is for the time being the English players are rejoicing after a thoroughly professional performance in the summer where they won all six international
series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755.
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