Swann sizes up spin-twin summer

England v West Indies, 1st npower Test, Lord's

Bulletin by Shwe Wai

	Graeme Swann: England's No. 1 spinner, but yet to play a Test at home

There was a time, not so long ago, when spin bowlers were utterly surplus to requirements during the early season Test match at Lord's. The legspinner, Chris Schofield, made his debut during the Zimbabwe Test in 2000 - at the time the earliest Test ever played in England - and couldn't get a bowl as Darren Gough and Andrew Caddick sealed a crushing innings victory.

The trend continued in later seasons, as Gareth Batty and Ashley Giles were also left to graze in the outfield during seam-dominated contests. Their selection seemed superfluous at best and a misappropriation of resources at worst, as England exploited their home advantage ruthlessly with five innings victories in seven contests, including a thumping innings-and-261-run margin when Bangladesh came to town in 2005.

But then the spell was broken and the life in the surface drained away (possibly via the £1.5million drainage system that has made Lord's into one of the most reliable all-weather surfaces in the world, but also one of the thirstiest). Ever since that Bangladesh result, England have failed to force victory in any one of their seven Tests at Lord's. In July 2005, they lost to Australia by 239 runs, before drawing a blank in six consecutive games against Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies, India, New Zealand and South Africa.

"There've been a number of reasons," said James Anderson, who - incredibly - is one of only two players in the match, along with the captain, Andrew Strauss, who has experienced the winning feeling in St John's Wood. "In the first Test against India we had them nine-down and it rained, which didn't help. But it's something we're looking to put right."