India vs England 2021: Graeme Swann has a word of advice for English spinners for their maiden India tour

India vs England 2021: Graeme Swann has a word of advice for English spinners for their maiden India tour

Graeme Swann, Dom Bess and Jack Leach

Graeme Swann, Dom Bess and Jack Leach
Graeme Swann, Dom Bess and Jack Leach

England are off to a great start in the ongoing first Test at Chennai with the bat. While their batting lineup has stood up to the challenge, it will be interesting to see how their inexperienced spin attack fares on their maiden India tour. Ahead of their first bowling innings of the series, England’s hero during their triumphant campaign in India in 2021, Graeme Swann has some advice for the spinners.

Swann advises Jack Leach to learn from the way Sri Lankan great Rangana Herath operated. He asked Leach to be ‘almost deadly boring’ in India and take his time to settle into his rhythm. Swann is confident that Leach is good enough to hold up one end and trouble the Indians with his accuracy.

“That’s the blueprint for Leach: run up, put it on the spotbe metronomic, and be almost deadly boring in the way he operates in India,” Graeme Swann was quoted as saying by ‘ESPNcricinfo’.

“India’s batsmen will respect a good ball, and he doesn’t bowl very many bad ones. Generally, Indian batsmen will play the long game. That’s brilliant for him because it gives him the chance to get into a rhythm and find his groove. He can definitely be consistent enough to hold down an end,” he added.

He does bowl wicket-taking balls

Dom Bess
Dom Bess

Swann feels that although Dom Bess didn’t bowl very well in Sri Lanka, he has the knack for taking wickets. The former off-spinner adds that Bess has a lot of cricket left in him. And he will improve as he plays more Test cricket. It will be a Test for both finger spinners as they face a side that plays spin very well on a flat Chepauk pitch.

“The fact that Dom is still young and hasn’t bowled a great number of overs in his life means that he’s not as consistent as he might be in the future. It’s a tricky one because Bess is a wicket-taker,” Swann said.

“He didn’t bowl particularly well in Sri Lanka and I think he’d admit that, but he took 12 wickets and he does bowl wicket-taking balls,” he added.

England are in a very strong position now thanks to handy contributions from Dom Sibley, Joe Root and Ben Stokes. While Sibley and Stokes missed out on well-deserved hundreds, Root is on his way to smashing a second double ton in as many series.

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