Australia will find Swann difficult to tackle: Emburey

LONDON - Former England captain John Emburey said Graeme Swann will enjoy an upper hand against Australian batsmen in the upcoming Ashes series.

Emburey, a member of the last England team to taste Ashes glory in Australia in 1986-87, believes off-spinner Swann can capitalise on Australian conditions and the use of the umpire referral system to befuddle Ricky Ponting’s team.

“Because Australian pitches are rough and hard - they don’t dust like they do here - the ball will turn sharply out of footmarks, and bits the size of your fingernail will work loose,” Emburey was quoted as saying in the Daily Telegraph.

“With the referral system in place, the Australian left-handers will struggle against him when he bowls at them from ’round the wicket’,” Emburey said.

“You’ve now got Hot Spot and Hawk-Eye working in your favour and getting you lbws. I would have benefited a lot from referrals, bowling straight from wicket to wicket.”

Of Swann’s 113 Test wickets, 33.62 per cent have come in the form of lbws. In comparison, less than 13 per cent of Hauritz’s Test victims have been trapped in front of the wickets.

“Swanny gets a high proportion of his wickets lbw, which shows his range of variation in deceiving batsmen,” Emburey said.