Thaindian News

London, Apr. 23 (ANI): England off-spinner Graeme Swann has loved cricket all his life, but he admits there have been times this winter when he hated the sight of training kit and thought seriously about giving up the game.Swann is not biting the hand that feeds him, but articulating the fears of many about burnout from the increased amount of competition and so many forms of the game.”There’s too much cricket, especially for the fast bowlers. You only have to look at Stuart Broad, who keeps himself as fit as anyone, yet his body just couldn’t handle the amount of cricket over 12 months. He broke down over the Ashes and broke down during the World Cup,” the Daily Express quoted Swann, as saying.He added: “Obviously it’s not as physically bad for the batters, but mentally it’s tough on everyone. We do travel an awful lot and play a lot of cricket. Physically it’s not a particularly demanding game for me, but I’m one of the lucky ones. I bowl spin and bat at eight or nine. But, mentally, it can be because I have been playing this game ever since I was five years old.”

He said: “At times you really do lose your love for the game because it just feels like you are on a treadmill, playing another game, another flight. We had 40 flights this winter which is just an incredible amount of flying. When you get back to your own bed it feels like you’re on holiday. That’s when you think, ‘Hang on a minute, a couple of weeks off here and there wouldn’t kill anyone’. (ANI)