London: England off-spinner Graeme Swann insists that despite his World No.3 ranking in International Cricket Council (ICC) Test bowlers list and World No.3 ranking in ODIs, he can’t be compared to spin legends Muttiah Muralitharan or Shane Warne.
“I’ve had two or three fairy-tale years, but I don’t think I’m a Muralitharan or a Warne. I think I’m good at what I do, and I’m lucky to play in an exceptional team that allows me to do it, but at the end of the day I’m an off-spinner. There’s not a great deal of variation, everything I do has to be subtle,” a leading daily quoted Swann, as saying.
“People said when I got to 100 wickets, that I’d done it as quickly as Shane Warne. But I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time, partly because of the way the England team came together, and also because technology favoured me. The DRS [decision review] system meant that all of a sudden I was getting a lot of lbws that for years spinners hadn’t been given,” he added.
Swann has played 36 Test and has taken 153 wickets at an average of 28.82.
In March 2010, the 32-year-old had become the first English off-spinner since Jim Laker to take 10 wickets in a match when he achieved the feat in England’s victory in the first Test in Bangladesh.
ANI
First Published: Monday, November 14, 2011, 12:56