We got the best possible start, says England’s Swann

ADELAIDE - England spinner Graeme Swann was delighted after Australian were all out for 245 in the first innings on the opening day of the second Ashes Test here Friday.

Australia, who decided to bat on a batsmen friendly track at the Adelaide Oval, were bowled out shortly before the close despite Mike Hussey’s 93.

“We’ll take that. We got the best possible start with two wickets in the first over and three within three overs. We’ll take 245 all out any day. To get Ricky Ponting first ball is good enough but Clarke as well, plus the run-out, was a dream start,” Swann was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

Another run-out later accounted for tail-ender Xavier Doherty in a strong fielding display from England, and

Swann also complimented the England fielders for their brilliant fielding that saw two run outs.

“There was a lot of energy round the field, those who weren’t bowling were scampering around like idiots - KP (Kevin Pietersen) especially. The odd pat on the bum here and there is what you need to keep you going. We work hard on it, five or six years ago we were probably the worst fielding side in the world,” said Swann.

Swann took two wickets himself, including top-scorer Hussey.

“It’s a flat pitch, it didn’t really spin, so my job is to tie one end down and I was pretty happy with the way I did that,” he said.

“Two wickets were the icing on the cake really. Hussey smashed me all over the place last week. You get these mini-battles and Hussey is one of mine - he’s a mate of mine, he’s a great batsman, but I enjoy it more when he’s on his way off. He’s a very good player of spin and he’s hit a purple patch at the right time for him - we need to knock him out of that out as soon as possible.”

Asked about the prospect of the match, Swann said: “It’s a very good pitch so we’ll be looking to bat as big as we can, hopefully that will be enough and we can then leave ourselves two or three days to win the Test.”