Swann turns a new leaf

Mike Atherton, writing in the Times, speaks of the change he's witnessed in Graeme Swann from the time he was picked in the squad for South Africa ten years ago to his recent success. Maturity and change in attitude, he says, are two of the several factors contributing to his impressive performance. He adds that if Swann is to be considered truly world-class, he has to distinguish himself in the sub-continent.

What were the doubts that caused the England selectors, who had clearly seen something in the cygnet when they picked him for the tour to South Africa ten years ago, to balk at playing him in the final XI until 2008? There were two issues, neither related, both of which Swann has put firmly to bed.

The first was temperament, which a decade ago was just the wrong side of cocky and which has been slightly modified through maturity. The other was the nagging doubts of those in authority then that an “orthodox” finger spinner could succeed in a game increasingly dominated by wrist spinners, or off spinners who offered something different by way of a “doosra”.