It's not over yet: Swann

Graeme Swann has warned India that their celebrations are over and England would be as relentless as they have been in the series. According to him, England will be at their best in the last Test of the series. 

"It is nothing to do with No 1. That was the heady three or four hours after winning a Test. We're not carrying on thinking the series is over. There was a similar situation after that Melbourne Test last year
. A lot of people said the hard work was done and people wouldn't blame us for taking our foot off the gas in Sydney but we actually pulled out our best performance of the trip. We'll be looking to emulate that at The Oval, because if we even go halfway to matching that game at Sydney, we'll be doing well," Swann said. 

Swann has been a spectator to the team's moments of glory but the England spinner is not complaining. He is ready to fire on all cylinders whenever there is a chance. 

"When your seamers are doing so well, it doesn't take a genius to know who you're going to attack when the little finger spinner comes on," Swann said talking of Indian batsmen's approach to go after him. 

He is also content with the way he has bowled so far. "I wouldn't say I'm firing on all cylinders, but that's just a case of not getting as many overs under my belt as I would have wanted. I bowled well in patches in this series, I was quite happy with how I bowled at Edgbaston, I was disgusted with how I bowled at Trent Bridge." 

Then he adds in lighter vein: "I'm an inherently lazy person, so I quite enjoy other people doing the hard yards. I might start asking for annual leave whenever we play at Trent Bridge, a lovely ground but I can't get a wicket on my home ground." 

But the 32-year-old spinner says he has not lost focus despite the conditions in the series helping the pacers. "You have to be fairly pragmatic. You are not always going to have conditions that suit you. If you accept that at the start of your career then it's a lot easier to handle. It would have bothered me when I was 21 or 22 but now I'm 32." 

Swann thinks Rahul Dravid has challenged him and the England team the most. "I think Rahul is the guy who has challenged all our bowlers the most. He uses his feet exceptionally well so he's difficult to bowl at. He's a man who has looked in really good form for India and at the minute his is the wicket that's cherished most within the huddle whenever we get it. 

"Once we've got Dravid, it must send shock waves through the Indian batting. I know he doesn't like being called 'The Wall' or 'The Rock' but you sense once he's gone you are a little bit closer to get them out." 

Swann admitted that it would be a loss for England if James Anderson is not fit for the fourth Test but claims the replacements are good enough to step in. "I think he would be a huge loss. You take any of the seamers out of the mix and it would be a huge loss but we thought that with Chris Tremlett when he couldn't play at Trent Bridge and then up stepped Bressie (Tim Bresnan) and he's been unbelievable. We have got vast stocks of fast bowlers at the minute, I'm not sure where they've all come from but it's nice for us they have all arrived at the same time." 

Swann says England have been lucky with the weather conditions. "It's not been dry and hot this summer. Someone up there is looking after us because we wanted it to be cloudy with a bit of moisture in the air." 

He is not sure how the Oval wicket will behave although he would want it to spin a little. "This Oval pitch has always been a good batting wicket but we've had a lot more sunshine in the previous years. So who knows? I'm no groundsman but there's a little guy inside me that says he hopes it's dry out there and it spins a bit. But I think there are three or four guys in our changing-room hoping it's a little bit damp."