Swann upbeat despite tough start

Graeme Swann found life tougher on his return to Sri Lanka, but remains confident about his chances of success © Getty Images

Last month Graeme Swann was the find of the series as his offspinners and lower-order batting helped carry England to a memorable 3-2 victory in the one-dayers against Sri Lanka. Today he endured a rather more frustrating return to England colours, conceding 65 runs in 12 wicketless overs on a day dominated by Upul Tharanga's unbeaten 92. A dramatic thunderstorm denied him the chance to improve on his performance in the late afternoon, but at the close he was philosophical about his struggles and confident that his best form wasn't far away.

"You just forget how hot it is out there," said Swann. "In the one-day stuff it's three hours and then you're off, but in the 90-over stuff you just keep plugging and plugging away. It's hard work. I got quite a bit of turn early on, and I would have liked to bowl [here] later in the tour when I've got some rhythm, but I know I'll enjoy bowling in the second innings."

Swann starts this trip as England's second spinner, behind Monty Panesar in the pecking order. But he's determined not to be marginalised and believes he's capable of challenging for a Test place. "I hope I can put pressure on any of the bowlers," he said. "I have to bowl well and get rhythm. I've started at the bottom so can only get better."

Panesar's own tour didn't begin quite as he might have planned, as his first over went for 20, but Swann sympathised. "As spinners, you've got to bowl full on these pitches, because both me and Monty were getting square-cut quite early on. It's frustrating because you know where you want to pitch the ball, but you end up going at six an over. Their batsmen are aggressive against spinners so it's a nice challenge to have."

Most of England's preparation over the next ten days revolves around their bowling unit, and everyone except for the late-arriving Steve Harmison had their chance to stake a claim on the opening day. "Everyone's got to get some time in the middle to get some overs in their legs, and everyone in patches bowled pretty well," said Swann. "But it's important to get those first ten overs out of the way. Ryan Sidebottom bowled ten overs either side of lunch which was quite exciting as he started reverse-swinging it and the ball was still in great nick."

Matthew Hoggard, who hasn't played for England since the summer, had one over to forget when he lost his run-up four times, but Swann admitted that the entire team had seen the funny side. "It's a good job he was laughing because everyone else was trying to stifle it. But it's been a long time since Hoggy played any cricket at all. In fact it feels the same for all of us, even though the ODIs were only a month ago."