REMEMBER those dark days of English cricket when our batsmen were made to look like amateurs by a blond spinner that took wickets almost at will?

Well the boot is on the other foot now. For Shane Warne, think Graeme Swann.

The former is arguably the best spinner that ever played the game but he has a pretender to his throne in place now. And he bats, or should I say bowls, for the other side.

Swann is no flash in the pan. He has established himself as the number one spinner in the world through impressive performances over successive series against some of the best teams in the world – Australia, South Africa and Pakistan included.

His knack of getting a wicket in his first over is no fluke. Not only does he possess skill, variation and flight in abundance, but he has an astute cricketing brain that has done for many a top batsman.

He can find grip and turn on almost any surface and his jack-the-lad personality allows him to effortlessly deal with the pressures the modern day game brings.

Phil Tufnell and Monty Panesar have offered rare glimpses of match-winning potential, but they are not in the same league as Swann in terms of skill. He is a master of his art.

What all three of these players have, however, is the ability to galvanise their team-mates and supporters alike.

All three are cult terrace heroes and it just goes to show how the English cricketing public appreciate the talents of spin bowlers.

Maybe it is because many of us younger cricket fans grew up watching Warne turn us into a laughing stock series after series.

Now we have a player of similar standing we can only hope it is the Aussies that are reduced to a nervous wreck when the opposition skipper tosses the ball to his number one slow bowler.