England spinners Moeen Ali, Dom Bess, and Jack Leach will be under tremendous pressure but have a golden opportunity to perform when they face India in a four-match Test series starting from Friday, February 5. While the trio will be under pressure, their skipper Joe Root will be sailing in the same boat.
According to Graeme Swann, England cricket doesn't understand spin bowling well. He has criticized their captaincy when bowling spin. Saying this, he also mentions that it is not a dig at Joe Root.
Swann told Daily Mail, "English cricket still doesn’t really understand spin or captain it well — and that’s not a dig at Joe Root. One thing I will say, and Bumble (David Lloyd) mentioned this on Sky in the Sri Lanka series, is that I can’t understand having a deep cover to spinners as Joe did."
"It’s just a field placing for a dirty ball. By all means, play with a long-on or long-off or deep midwicket if you’re trying to tempt the batsman into something, but never ever have a deep cover," he added.
The 41-year-old also drew his attention to the fact that some players are in awe of reaching a stage or playing against an opposition. As a result, the performance doesn't come off as intended. Swann wants Bess and Leach to believe that they belong where they are and bowl with a 'bit of a swagger'.
Swann said, "And what England’s spinners really need is a bit of swagger. Very few players feel that way in international cricket because of the amount of respect they give the opposition and the awe and wonder at being there."
"If I could sit down with Jack Leach and Dom Bess now, I would tell them to just go out there and think, 'This is where I belong'," the former off-spinner concluded.
