England must silence Aussie crowds to win Ashes – Swann

ENGLAND must silence the baying home crowds if they are to stand any chance of getting on top of Australia during the upcoming Ashes series, said former spinner Graeme Swann.

Swann, who retired mid-way through England’s ill-fated tour in 2013/14, described the noise levels at the Gabba in Brisbane, hosting the first Test from Nov 23, as “unbelievable” and even louder than Real Madrid’s home supporters.

England are the current Ashes holders but go into the lion’s den on the back of two 5-0 whitewashes in their past three tours Down Under, although Swann was a key part of the side that won 3-1 in 2010/11.

“The thing you’ve got to do is stop the noise and the easy way to do that in Australia is to get on top of them,” said Swann, adding that England’s senior players such as Alastair Cook and captain Joe Root would have to lead from the front.

“If you get on top of the team, they’ll quickly turn on their own but obviously the hard bit is getting on top of them,” he said, speaking at the launch of BT Sport’s Ashes coverage in London in his capacity as a pundit.

“It’s the most unique wicket in the world, more than Perth, it’s quicker than Perth,” he added.

“It does a lot off the seam, especially early on, so you get a lot of slip catches there. It’s just very alien to anywhere else you bat in the world so teams struggle.”

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan, a fellow BT pundit, agreed that Brisbane offers unique challenges to touring teams.

“I always think of all the venues, Brisbane to me is the one venue where when you go out to bat you’re not just facing one bowler, you’re facing 40,000.

“It just feels that the whole of Australia are watching you. They’re the nastiest of the crowds. No idea why but they do seem to know exactly that they can get to the England side.” – AFP