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Swann: Let's get back to cricket
England off-spinner Graeme Swann feels that Kevin Pietersen issue is done and dusted and it was time to focus on the upcoming tour of India.
Pietersen is en route to India to join up with the national side ahead of a four-Test series, having not played with them since the second Test against South Africa in August.
A high-profile rift between the South Africa-born batsman and former captain Andrew Strauss was at the start of a chain of events that saw Pietersen placed in the international wilderness.
He is back on board now, though, having worked things out with the England and Wales Cricket Board, Strauss and the other players.
"More than anything it is a good thing it is done and dusted," Swann told the Independent.
"A line has been drawn under it and the actual cricket can go back to doing the talking rather than off-field antics.
"I am sure it can get back to how it was. I think a lot depended on Kevin. He seems in a place now where he is happy to play again, he has committed himself to the team and that's good moving forward.
"I think that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet now. I think there has been a bit of honesty and a bit of contriteness from certain parties. I think everybody is fed up with it and that's why we just want to play cricket."
A high-profile rift between the South Africa-born batsman and former captain Andrew Strauss was at the start of a chain of events that saw Pietersen placed in the international wilderness.
He is back on board now, though, having worked things out with the England and Wales Cricket Board, Strauss and the other players.
"More than anything it is a good thing it is done and dusted," Swann told the Independent.
"A line has been drawn under it and the actual cricket can go back to doing the talking rather than off-field antics.
"I am sure it can get back to how it was. I think a lot depended on Kevin. He seems in a place now where he is happy to play again, he has committed himself to the team and that's good moving forward.
"I think that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet now. I think there has been a bit of honesty and a bit of contriteness from certain parties. I think everybody is fed up with it and that's why we just want to play cricket."
During his debut Test match in Chennai four years ago, Swann had taken two wickets in his first over and since then has added another 190 to his tally. And the spinner knows that the expectations would be higher this time around, especially when it comes to sub-continent wickets.
"As a spinner it stands to reason that when you go to the subcontinent people are going to look to you and how you bowl.
But if we do turn up just expecting the spinner to win the series for us then we're screwed," Swann told the Independent before heading off for England's training camp in Dubai.
Although Swann has taken 39 wickets in 2012, his 10 victims during the English summer came at an average of 59 and he was dropped for the first time in more than three years when England opted to play four fast bowlers against South Africa at Headingley.
Moreover, a chronic elbow injury, which has needed periods, has also hampered his chances but Swann can take confidence from his impressive record in Asia that includes taking his second 10-wicket haul in Tests against Sri Lanka earlier this year.
"The key to Test cricket is that the more you play the more confident you get and the more confident you get, you bowl more consistently. Having looked at the schedule, I know two of the pitches might turn, in Kolkata and Mumbai. I'm not sure about the other two."
"I have been reliably informed that Nagpur is the flattest wicket ever devised by groundsmen but that was by Cooky, who got a hundred there on his debut," said Swann.
Recalling his memorable debut in India in 2008, Swann said, "It all started for me there and I can't quite believe it has come round again so quickly. It all seems like a dream when I think about the start of it.
"I remember the smells that were wafting over the ground when I took the ball. It's all very romantic when I think back. The rose-tinted glasses are removed of course because of the fact that we had 360-odd chased down at a canter by Mr Tendulkar. But it's got fond memories for me personally because I did well.
"To realise that you can compete at a level that you have always had a sneaking suspicion that you weren't good enough for is one of the greatest weights ever to be lifted off your shoulders. I will be indebted to those first two Test matches for making me realise it was just another game of cricket," said Swann.
"As a spinner it stands to reason that when you go to the subcontinent people are going to look to you and how you bowl.
But if we do turn up just expecting the spinner to win the series for us then we're screwed," Swann told the Independent before heading off for England's training camp in Dubai.
Although Swann has taken 39 wickets in 2012, his 10 victims during the English summer came at an average of 59 and he was dropped for the first time in more than three years when England opted to play four fast bowlers against South Africa at Headingley.
Moreover, a chronic elbow injury, which has needed periods, has also hampered his chances but Swann can take confidence from his impressive record in Asia that includes taking his second 10-wicket haul in Tests against Sri Lanka earlier this year.
"The key to Test cricket is that the more you play the more confident you get and the more confident you get, you bowl more consistently. Having looked at the schedule, I know two of the pitches might turn, in Kolkata and Mumbai. I'm not sure about the other two."
"I have been reliably informed that Nagpur is the flattest wicket ever devised by groundsmen but that was by Cooky, who got a hundred there on his debut," said Swann.
Recalling his memorable debut in India in 2008, Swann said, "It all started for me there and I can't quite believe it has come round again so quickly. It all seems like a dream when I think about the start of it.
"I remember the smells that were wafting over the ground when I took the ball. It's all very romantic when I think back. The rose-tinted glasses are removed of course because of the fact that we had 360-odd chased down at a canter by Mr Tendulkar. But it's got fond memories for me personally because I did well.
"To realise that you can compete at a level that you have always had a sneaking suspicion that you weren't good enough for is one of the greatest weights ever to be lifted off your shoulders. I will be indebted to those first two Test matches for making me realise it was just another game of cricket," said Swann.
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