Swann happy for Anderson to take centre stage again

Graeme Swann will be delighted with another James Anderson "benefit" as England hope for an action-replay victory over Pakistan in tomorrow's second npower Test at Edgbaston.

Swann, England's cricketer of the year and such a rich source of wickets in all conditions over the past year, was required to bowl just two overs at Trent Bridge, where Anderson took a career-best 11-71 to help bowl the hapless tourists out twice.

After a short trip across the midlands, more swing-friendly cloud cover features prominently in an uncertain forecast this week, and apart from a couple of wickets for himself, Swann's wishlist is broadly a repeat of the 354-run win in Nottingham.

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Anderson's devastating bowling in Nottingham did not surprise Swann in the least, given the conditions which prevailed and the skills he has to exploit them.

"Jimmy was exceptional, but I kind of expected him to be because I knew it was going to swing at Trent Bridge and I knew he was in good nick," Swann said. "It was almost inevitable that he would bowl as well as he did. He loves that place."

There was no shock either for Swann that captain Andrew Strauss used him so sparingly on his home ground.

"Actually, it's not that strange for me to stand at Trent Bridge and not do much bowling because I do that for Notts a lot of the time," he added. "It was kind of novel, but kind of nice. I said to Straussy on the last morning 'In an ideal world I won't even have to get warmed up today because that means we are taking wickets'. And so it was.

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"It was nice just to have the best view in the house, just sit on an armchair at slip and watch it. If I get a couple of wickets (this time), I'll be perfectly happy."

Swann is overlooking the fact that he did contribute four catches at gully and in the slips, as well as 30 runs.

England have long made a virtue of their team ethos under Strauss and coach Andy Flower, and Swann feels it is a major asset to have match-winning performances coming from different quarters. "It makes you a lot harder team to beat if people are in form at different times, because the one thing you can predict is that you will never roll over and die," he said.

Pakistan, by contrast, are scouring their ranks for heroes and have had to cast their eye several thousand miles eastwards to summon veteran batsman Mohammad Yousuf.

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After visa issues delayed his trip from Lahore, Yousuf is currently scheduled to arrive in Birmingham this lunchtime, raising the prospect of having to bat in tough conditions within 24 hours of a long-haul flight and without even the help of an outdoor net should more bad weather intervene.

"I wouldn't like to do that," said Swann. "He is a world-class player."