England Cricket / Frank Gregan / 01 March 2010 /

Frank Gregan tells us about the art of spin bowling and discusses the respective merits of England's two best bowlers, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar.

The sight of a fast bowler bounding in and hurling a projectile the size of a hand grenade at head height and at a speed of 90 miles an hour is not for the faint hearted. Fast bowlers are the Mafia of cricket, the testosterone-filled brawn that intimidates a batsman into submission.

The alternative is the grace of spin. This recent generation has produced legendary spinners and the fact that the three top wicket takers of all time in Test cricket are 'slows' demonstrates that brain can defeat brawn out in the middle. Shane Warne is arguably the pick of the pack but there are many who swear allegiance to Muttiah Muralitharan, the leading wicket taker of all time in both formats of the game. Anil Kumble is third on the list in case you were wondering.

Those two great bowlers have something about them, an arrogance and a swagger which are by- products of lashings of self confidence. It isn't a case of 'if' they will take a wicket but 'when.' That kind of belief is natural, it's a cockiness that can't be taught and repetitive success multiplies it. The key however, is the starting point, the character of the individual before he takes to the cricket field.

England have had a lot of pretenders to the throne of Derek Underwood but no slow English bowler has managed to surpass Underwood's Test wicket haul. England have lacked a truly world class slow bowler for a long time. They currently have a number of spinners at their disposal but the two who have looked the most likely to shine are Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar.

Their characters are poles apart. Swann is Jack the Lad, full of confidence and having cemented his place in the England side, he seems determined to enjoy it. His ramblings on Twitter (Swannyg66) have attracted almost 35,000 followers and he keeps them entertained with updates on fascinating topics such as the music being played in the England dressing room and the colour of his thong! It took him a while to break through but he is a grafter and a charismatic guy that endears himself to cricket supporters. He is making the most of his talent.

The same can't be said of Monty Panesar. Monty is a quiet, unassuming and shy bloke who achieved cult status when he broke into the Test team. His wicket celebrations are quality, he bounces down the track like a camp Morris Dancer, missing every high five that is offered and grinning like the Coles's divorce lawyers! His fielding is not the best - on a par with Phil Tufnell - he has an arm like a ballerina throwing a shot putt! But boy can he can bowl and when he is in the right mental place and those fingers are working their magic, he can get the ball to turn sideways.

So what's gone wrong? Monty is a prodigious talent but most of it is natural. He is a great listener but perhaps he has listened to too many people offering too much advice. He's like a fledgling golfer standing over the ball with 27 different swing thoughts racing around his head. Sometimes you've just got to do what comes naturally and belt it! The same goes with bowling and Monty needs to get back to doing what earned him his cult status in the first place: quality deliveries that took wickets or tied down an end. English cricket is poorer without him but he needs to regain his place on merit, not sentiment.

It would've been great to have Monty on the tour of Bangladesh but he is currently in pre-season training with his new county Sussex in an effort to get his career back on track. The action continues without him and Kevin Pietersen, who was dismissed in the first ODI with only a single to his name will be eager to make amends when battle recommences tomorrow. Against the Bangladesh bowling attack he should have a field day and a match in the area of [5.5] should be available on KP being England's top batsman.

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