Swann Laments That Strauss, Trott and Cook Put Him to Sleep!

This may seem like one team mate backstabbing another. But perhaps given that it is Graeme Swann, what he has to say about England’s top three batsmen should not really matter as much.

Graeme Swann

This is not to discredit the England spinner who has earned himself amongst the contemporaries players to reckon with in the sport. However, Swann often has a tongue in cheek about his remarks and it would appear that while the England spinner has taken the liberty of speaking up against England’s top three batsmen, he has enormous respect for the very same cricketers.

England are eying the no.1 Test spot and that has as much to do with Swann’s emergence as England’s lead spinner but also, with the batting prowess and form of the likes of the England Test captain Andrew Strauss, new England ODI captain Alastair Cook and the man in prolific form, Jonathan Trott. As England go into the final Test against Sri Lanka in the current series, eyes are already shifting towards England’s next home assignment against India, the current no.1 Test team in the cricket world.

Swann has rarely held back when he has had things to say. In the course of the Ashes, Swann paid Cook a compliment in his own way. And it would appear while he is commenting on the leading England batsmen, he is also taking potshots at their batting styles. It would explain why Swann says their batting styles put him off to sleep.

Swann claims he cannot keep his eyes open when either Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss or Jonathan Trott is batting. In the England spinner’s opinion, neither rof them possesses the kind of batting style that would make him sit up and cheer. So, who does he prefer batting? Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior.

But perhaps from England’s perspective, they will continue to need to the top three to keep firing if England are indeed to put India on a reality check. And it will not be easy, even with England on home turf, which is perhaps why England will take Cook, Trott and Strauss, batting style or tenacious skills. Swann himself would be the first to acknowledge that the trio are integral to the team’s chances of keeping a consistent hold on their position as the team on the momentous rise.

However, if Swann does have a quality with words, he has his own style when it comes to making observations or when looking at a situation with a twist of humour to it. Not sure either of the three England cricketers would be particularly pleased had those comments come from someone else, but knowing it is Swann, they would have perhaps brushed it off almost entirely without giving it a second thought. After all, irrespective of how their batting style is viewed, there is no denying the fact that ultimately it is their being effective with run making for England that matters.

Swann, of course, struggles to keep concentration when he isn’t batting himself. So, perhaps his words did not be taken as seriously as some quarters are about one team mate speaking about the talent and stylings of his fellow team mates.