Swann relishes second chance
Jan 03 2010 - 11:21:44
England off-spinner Graeme Swann has spoken of his relief at having had to wait so long to make an impact on the international stage.
The 30-year-old has enjoyed a superb last 12 months, having been selected for his country way back in 1999, when Swann accepts that he was too immature to impress.
He told the Mail on Sunday: "The difference between this current tour and that one is like polar opposites.
"I would turn up at the next hotel and the first thing I'd find out was where the bar was located. I was young and stupid.
"When you are 19 you think you know everything there is to know. You're convinced you're right and that everyone else in the world is old and senile, out of touch and wrong.
"At the end of it (coach) Duncan Fletcher sat me down for my tour review and praised me for my tenacious attitude in training, but I didn't need to be told.
"I was nowhere near good enough, a million miles from playing Test cricket.
"I'm very glad I didn't play because I certainly wouldn't have done justice to myself and I may have made such a hash of it that I never got another go.
"Even if I had done okay, in all probability I would have formed too high an opinion of myself and ended up disappearing from the game and stuck in a day job I hated."