Cook hails 'unbelievable' Swann after ten wicket haul
Alastair Cook pays tribute to Graeme Swann after he finished victorious Bangladesh test with figures of 10-217
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Tuesday, 16, Mar 2010 06:00
By Will Haine.
England captain Alastair Cook paid tribute to the performance of Graeme Swann after the spinner bowled the tourists to a first Test victory over Bangladesh with match figures of 10-217.
Swann has had a quite remarkable start to his Test career which began when he took two wickets in the first over of his maiden Test against India in 2008. He has since featured prominently in an Ashes winning side, picked-up England's man-of-the-series award in South Africa where finger spinners seldom prosper and he became the first England spinner to take 50 wickets in a calendar year in 2009.
And his ten-wicket haul in England's 181-run win in Chittagong is the first of its kind by an England off-spinner on the subcontinent, and the first ten-for by an England off-spinner anywhere since Jim Laker's legendary 19-90 against Australia at Old Trafford in 1956. Naturally, Cook was quick to heap praise on the 30-year-old.
"Swanny in the last 12 months has been unbelievable and to keep turning in performances like that time and time again for us and winning games is even more unbelievable and ten wickets is thoroughly deserved," he said.
Swann had bowled England into a 303-run lead after the first innings, but Cook came under scrutiny for his decision not to enforce the follow-on. But it was a decision he felt was validated by the fact that England secured the win.
"We won the game so that's all that matters. The follow-on was a very easy decision as we'd bowled 90 overs before and the bowlers deserved a break in this heat and the way they bowled in the 120 overs of the second innings and the way they ran in the heat [showed] that rest was fully justified," added the 25-year-old.
"Full credit for the way Bangladesh fought in that last innings. They made us fight really hard for those ten wickets, but the way the lads - our three seamers and Swanny - stuck at their task in really hot conditions was fantastic and we're really happy with our win.
"All three of the seamers kept running in and reversing the ball both ways on a very unresponsive pitch and I can't ask more that that - and they backed up Swanny superbly."
England took the fifth Bangladesh second innings wicket before tea on day four, but they had to wait until after lunch on the final day until they took the sixth thanks to some stubborn resistance from Junaid Siddique and Mushfiqur Rahim. And man-of-the-match Swann commended the batsmen on their staunch display, as well as admitting his relief and finding a way to victory.
"It was horrible that last session [yesterday] - taking no wickets. But Siddique was batting superbly and we were really struggling at one point to find a breakthrough, and this morning as well it was tough. So it makes it doubly satisfying to wrap it up in this last session," said the Nottinghamshire bowler.
"It's been a good 12 months for me and I'm more than happy for it to keep on going."