Swann looks to future

Graeme Swann is hoping to make an impression in India

England might have missed out on the cash in the Caribbean but Graeme Swann reckons they know the value of their cricketing ambitions.

The 15-man one-day squad heads to India tonight in a bid to avenge a 5-1 thrashing in 2006 at the start of a vital 11 months for the side.

Also on the agenda are two Tests in December as England build towards next summer’s Ashes.

England will have plenty of opportunity to further assess what went wrong in the 10-wicket defeat to the Stanford Superstars, work on team bonding and mentally prepare for the challenge of the subcontinent during a 48-hour journey from Antigua to Mumbai via London and Dubai.

Swann, who ousted fast bowler James Anderson for a place in the US$20million match, reflected: “It was weird afterwards, I was a lot less bothered than I thought I would be.

“Obviously it is a massive amount and it would have been great to win but of the three big games I have played in over the last six weeks, which I count as the Pro40 finale, and the championship finale for Notts, then the other night, this one hurt a lot less than the other two.

“The Pro40 game against Sussex finished with me walking off barely able to speak, which has never happened to me in my life.

“Matt Prior tried to talk to me when I shook hands with him but I sat down with my head in my hands for an hour thinking the world had ended.

“Last Saturday I found it easier to be quite philosophical about it.

“We have had a week in the Caribbean, staying in a nice hotel, the food has been great, there was a great gym as well, so we were actually getting in shape for this India trip.

Swann does not think England played anywhere near their potential in the Stanford 20/20 for 20

“Had we played well, to our potential and expectations, and lost it would have been impossible to take - but we were appalling.”

Losing out on the chance to earn $1million a man in Sir Allen Stanford’s inaugural 20-over contest held potential to create unrest and tension, but Swann thinks England have the personnel to deal with that.

“Even though this was a big week publicity-wise I still think this ranks pretty low in the grander scheme of things where English cricket is concerned,” said Swann.

“Everyone’s priorities are different and what they play sport for varies. Some play for financial reasons, some play for the fame of it but as long as everyone is desperately trying as a unit to be the best team then I can’t see the Stanford concept being divisive.

“We were in a very enviable position which meant if we had come first we would have pocketed a bit of cash. As it was, we finished fifth in the end.”

Off-spinner Swann can expect a prominent role in the upcoming seven-match one-day international campaign, given the influence of slow bowling in India and his success in similar conditions against Sri Lanka a year ago.

“It does add pressure given that they’re the best players of spin in the world of spin,” the 29-year old added.

“But it is actually more fun bowling in international cricket because you’re always bowling at better players.

“At the end of the game you feel more pride if you have done well because you know you have had no easy wickets, no easy bowling.

“It is very rare in a one-day international to bowl at numbers nine, 10 and 11 because spinners normally bowl in the middle period rather than the end.”