Spunky England off-spinner Graeme Swann rates the ball with which he castled Ricky Ponting in the Edgbaston Test as the most satisfying delivery of his career, something he can tell his grandchildren about with considerable pride.
"The ball with which I bowled Ricky Ponting at Edgbaston was the most satisfying of my career," Swann wrote in his column for 'The Sun'.
"I'll never tire of talking about it and I'm sure my grandkids will get the full story in 30 years' time," said the offie.
"I'm not exactly the silent type so I wonder if I can go through the Fourth Test at Headingley without mentioning the ball. I doubt it.
"And, when I'm with my pipe and slippers, it will give me a great memory and conversation piece," he said.
"As for my England team-mates - well, they are already fed up seeing and hearing about the delivery!" quipped Swann.
"Sometimes, as a spin bowler, the ball comes out perfectly and flights and pitches in exactly the way you want. When it happens, there's no better feeling," he said.
Recalling the delivery, he said, "I'd bowled a decent over to Ponting as I tried to vary my pace and hit the rough created by Mitchell Johnson's footmarks. Then, from the last ball of that over, I got one to drift away in the air and then turn in sharply to the batsman."
"Ponting is Australia's best player and captain so his wicket is always key. It was a huge moment for us. The big screen replayed it loads of times that evening so the other England players have already watched it more times than they'd like," Swann said.
Despite maintaining their advantage, England could not win the Test and Swann seemed disappointed.
"I needed to produce another couple of similar balls on the final day and I didn't. We really believed we could take the eight remaining Australian wickets but I think the bowlers were all guilty of trying of too hard. We were trying to bowl magic balls rather than be patient," he said.
Swann felt the pitch had little to offer but nothing could be taken away from Michael Clarke and Marcus North who saved the match for Australia.
"The ball went soft and didn't swing, the pitch went flat and we couldn't force any chances...It's bizarre how cricket balls swing some days but not others.
"So we were disappointed at the end. But we must accept Michael Clarke and Marcus North looked very composed," Swann said.
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