UP THE SWANNY

Battered England left to rue their lack of quality spinners in Adelaide

- RORY DOLLARD

ENGLAND were left pining for the days of Graeme Swann as a lack of spin bowling options saw them dragged to the brink of Ashes defeat in Adelaide.

Swann retired midway through another drubbing Down Under in 2013-14 but the tourists would give anything for a bowler of his calibre after their failure to adequately fill the role bit them hard in the third Test.

He played a huge role in their 2010-11 series triumph in Australia and finished with 255 Test scalps at an average under 30, as well an economy rate of less than three an over, the kind of numbers that would have helped them keep Australia in check as they built up an impregnable position.