England might be finding the situation a bit gloomy following their loss to Bangladesh, but off-spinner Graeme Swann saw the brighter side
England might be finding the situation a bit gloomy following their loss to Bangladesh, but off-spinner Graeme Swann saw the brighter side.
"There's a positive to everything. There is clarity to our road ahead now. If we win (our next) four games, we win the World Cup," Swann told reporters here yesterday.u00a0 "It all comes down to Thursday (when England take on the West Indies in their last group game). We play our best cricket when we've got our backs against the wall."
The defeat at Chittagong has left England with five points, one less than Bangladesh, from as many matches and placed fifth in the points table for Group 'B'.
England's qualification to the knockout stage now depends on their beating the West Indies and other teams' results in the group.
Swann was fined 10 per cent of his match fee for swearing at umpire Daryl Harper following the latter's refusal to change the wet ball in highly dewy conditions.u00a0 He apologised for his behaviour but was critical of holding matches at grounds where dew was major factor under lights. "You could say it was very unSwann-like. I am a very passionate person in the way I play and I get angry if I feel I'm not on a level-playing field," he said.
"Against Bangladesh, we weren't on a level-playing field. There shouldn't be any day-night games at grounds that are covered in dew. Regardless of anyone saying whatever they want, I would like to invite them to come and bowl spin with a ball that's wet. If they can manage it, they're a lot better than I am," added.
Swann slammed the team's schedule which saw them play five Tests, two Twenty20 Internationals and seven ODIs in Australia, before arriving in India only six days before their first World Cup game. "It's a ludicrous schedule, not just for us, but almost half the other teams. I'm not going to use that as an excuse for our poor performance," he said.
