Indians spinners are no threat to England: Swann

Ahmedabad: Despite their recent struggle against slow bowlers in subcontinent conditions, England spinner Graeme Swann has dimissed talks that Indian spinners would be a threat to the visiting batsmen during the upcoming four-Test series, starting in Ahmedabad on November 15.

England have managed to register just two wins in 22 Tests in the sub-continent, excluding matches against Bangladesh, and the reason could be largely attributed to the fact that their batsmen have struggled against high-quality spin bowling. England were whitewashed 0-3 by Pakistan in the Test series held at the United Arab Emirates earlier this year, before they could manage a draw in the two-match Test rubber against Sri Lanka in April. Swann, however, said that the wicket in Dubai was different from the typical sub-continent track. "I think last winter was a bit different," Swann was quoted as saying by cricinfo.Com. "First of all, when we played in Dubai that was not really the subcontinent, that wicket was very unique in the sense that it was very skiddy and span as well. "India`s wickets are more traditional, more what people are used to, so I would be very surprised if that happened again," he added. Swann also added that India lacked a mystery spinner like Pakistan`s Saeed Ajmal in their ranks. "We were bowled out by a mystery spinner (Ajmal) that batsmen could not pick. India are not really blessed with a mystery spinner like that," he said. The off-spinner, however, admitted that the English batsmen have always had a problem against quality spin bowling. "That has been levelled at us for a few years now and justifiably so. We have had a poor record against spin bowling over there. I think that is more of a mental thing now because the wickets are not that different around the world. "Certainly the wickets we played on in Sri Lanka were not really spin friendly. They were not any different to playing at Old Trafford or Trent Bridge. They tend to spin more on day four and five but at times like that we need to forget where we are playing and just go out and play the ball as it comes down," Swann insisted. Swann said that his teammates would look to make the most of the experience they gained while playing Test series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. "I think we went into our shells a bit in the UAE and suffered as a consequence. We have learned, certainly as batsmen, that you have to be positive and you have to be more aggressive when you bat. We have got so much talent in the squad that I would not be surprised if we went to India in the Test series and really dominated with the bat," he said. PTI