"The most sobering decision I have ever had to make" says retired English spinner Graeme Swann
Former England spinner Graeme Swann
Following the decision to abruptly call curatins on his international career midway into the Ashes series against Australia, England spinner Graeme Swann spoke to Radio 5 live, explaining in retrospect, the circumstances amidst which he retired.
The right arm off spinner ended with 255 Test match wickets, becoming the 6th most successful bowler in the history of English cricket. However, Swann was not able to carry forward this notable accomplishment in England’s visit to Australia, where he managed only seven wickets in the opening 3 Tests, at an average of 80, prompting a premature exit.
“Quite simply, I was awful,” he said. “Whenever I bowled in the past, I could always get a lot of revolutions on the ball, dip and trouble most batsmen I bowled at”
The 34-year old complained that the elbow operation in March 2013 was a contributing factor to his drastic dip in form.
“But from the outset of the tour, in the warm-up matches, I just couldn’t do it. After my second elbow operation, I’ve never really got the same revolutions I got before it, but it just [deteriorated] and I really felt powerless to tie people down”
The Northampton born cricketer was almost embarrassed with his displays, reaching a point where he felt he was letting his country down.
He said, “In Adelaide, I was getting hit for six by a rabbit who bats at number 11. It gets to a point that you realise you are hindering the team. You are not helping them in any way”
“It’s a horrible feeling to come to terms with because you are playing for your country, you love playing cricket for England and it’s your life, but to actually come to that conclusion is possibly the most sobering decision I have ever had to make.
“It was horrendous.”
The 5-0 drubbing at the hands of the Aussies went down as England’s worst ever Ashes series statistically. Swann, however, jumped to the rescue of under-fire skipper Alaistair Cook pointing out that it was a collective failure, and no captain in the world could have saved the sinking ship.
“No man could have captained us this winter – there is not a captain on earth,” he said.
“We were terrible. We have got to get more improved performances from the team and then the captain will be able to do his job.
“Cook should keep doing the job he was doing beforehand, not panic about what has happened and just get everyone together and think how are we going to go about scoring big runs again.
“That is the only way you can win Test matches. It’s what we did arguably for five years. We were so good because we had such a reliable top order who were scoring so many runs. If we can get back to that we will be fine.”
In response to the rumored dressing room spats, Swann said that the tabloids were way off mark with their reports.
“It will probably surprise people to hear that the changing-room was not divided,” he added. “It was remarkably calm. People just knew we were not performing and they were doing whatever they could to improve that”
Swann also talks about the situation regarding Kevin Pieterson, who was thought to be at the heart of the alleged controversy.
“Some of the stuff I have read is just a made-up pack of lies. There was one line in one of the famous tabloids saying KP refused to go to the Christmas dinner. He sat on the table next to me with his whole family.
“He’s had his moments in the past where he certainly has been divisive in the dressing-room, but to be fair to Kev, since coming back from his ‘reintegration’ he has been much improved.”
It has not got any better for England Down Under, losing the 5 match ODI series with one cosolation win. The upcoming T20 internationals are their only shot at salvaging some pride.