Stuart Broad will give me kittens if he goes soft, says Graeme Swann

Stuart Broad will give me kittens if he goes soft, says Graeme Swann

 Graeme Swann has urged Stuart Broad to keep his nasty streak despite his England team-mate's miserable summer so far.

 Broad has taken only eight wickets in his last seven international matches and has yet to strike in the current NatWest series against Sri Lanka. To make matters worse, the 25-year-old was fined about £1,500 for his clash with umpire Billy Bowden at Headingley last week.

Both Swann and Broad will hope to play at their home ground, Trent Bridge, in the fourth one-day international tomorrow, when England must win to level the series and ensure the final match at Old Trafford on Saturday is decisive.

Broad's intimidatory tactics have brought little success so far but Swann believes he must stick to them.

"Broady is very positive," said Swann. "He was disappointed with the fine he got at Headingley but I believe you need to have an aggressive approach as a fast bowler.

"I don't want to see my fast bowlers stroking kittens. They should be bowling bouncers and making life difficult for the batsmen.

"Broady needs to curb it when he does step over the line but he is repentant and has vowed to let his fast bowling do the talking."

England began the series with an impressive 110-run victory at The Oval but they have since been brought back to earth as Sri Lanka claimed convincing victories at Headingley and Lord's to take a 2-1 lead.

Sri Lanka were World Cup finalists earlier this year and look a far more accomplished one-day side than their hosts but there is still time for England to turn things around and Swann is confident they can rediscover the form that propelled them to their triumph in the opening match.

"In home conditions, we should be better than we have been in the last two matches," continued the off‑spinner. "We have to win the next two games to win the series but we are more than capable of it if we can replicate the form we showed at The Oval. We want to revert to how we played there."

Swann's strong performances in the series so far have brought calls for Nottinghamshire left-arm spinner Samit Patel to be included alongside his county colleague but Swann expects Trent Bridge to favour the quicker bowlers.

"I'm expecting it to help the seamers, as there's a bit of grass on the pitch and hopefully a bit of moisture tomorrow," he added. "I would be surprised if there were wholesale changes to the team."

 London Evening Standard

 5 Jul 2011