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England have turned a corner - Swann

ESPN staff
April 18, 2012
Graeme Swann says England's strong team spirit has seen them back on track © Getty Images
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Graeme Swann is confident England are back on track after enduring a difficult winter.

Andrew Strauss' men secured their status as No. 1 Test team in the world with victory over Sri Lanka, but that followed a run of four consecutive defeats - three to Pakistan and one to Sri Lanka.

Swann's game-changing performance in Colombo saw him move to No. 4 in the world rankings, after a difficult winter that saw England's batsman struggle against spin.

But Swann, who is now available for Nottinghamshire's County Championship campaign until mid-May, insists England's impressive team morale has seen them weather the storm.

"The bar of expectation is so high with our performances over the last couple of years that you have got to take the rough with the smooth," Swann told Sky Sports News. "If you don't then perform people are going to crash down on you.

"We have got to take that on the chin and move on. When we have been scoring five, six, seven hundred every time we bat to all of a sudden go 150, 80 all out, it is going to raise a few eyebrows. But luckily we have stayed together as a team and I think we are through the worse of it."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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