Swann happy in 'grandad' role

Graeme Swann
12 April 2012

Graeme Swann will be happy to play the 'grandad' figure in his first match as England captain against West Indies at The Oval on Friday.

At 32, Swann is a minimum three years older than any of his charges selected to take on equally inexperienced opponents in two Twenty20 fixtures in the space of three days.

The off-spinner, who has taken over the captaincy in the absence of the injured Stuart Broad and his deputy Eoin Morgan, said: "I feel like a grandad to some of these boys. I've been around the block a few more times than these lads, but it's nice to have that bit of experience under your belt."

Swann is hugely encouraged too by the potential of the likes of Jonny Bairstow - fresh from his scintillating international debut against India in Cardiff in last week's final NatWest Series match - and several others.

"These young guys are coming into a pressure situation, but we believe they're good enough to cope with that," he added.

"I'm sure they'll enjoy it once they get on to the park and realise what a good time we have as a group. They'll love being a part of it.

"We're very excited about these youngsters. They've been brought up on this format of the game and they're exceptional at it."

England are already eyeing their next World Twenty20 campaign, in Sri Lanka almost exactly 12 months away, and Swann said: "With that Twenty20 'World Cup' being in the sub-continent, I think we're going to have to play a lot of spin bowling over there.

"We've got lads like (Danny) Briggs and (Scott) Borthwick coming into this squad who are superb young spinners with exceptional records in Twenty20. I'm sure they'll do well over the next few days, if they play.

"We've not got many games before Sri Lanka. We're proud world champions and want to keep hold of that mantle, so these are vital games for us. It's a bit of added pressure for me, but I'm going to enjoy that and thrive on it."

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