Gareth Batty: Graeme Swann is irreplaceable but England must stick with Moeen Ali

When any great player leaves the stage, it is always interesting to see how the team replace him, especially when his skills are unique within the team.

I believe Graeme Swann was the best England spinner of all time, and it was always going to be difficult to replace him. What they have done – picking four seamers and Moeen Ali, an all-rounder – is the safe choice.

It was the same for Australia and Sri Lanka respectively, when Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. You can’t replace these players directly but the only way to find their successor is to give spin bowlers a chance. You will only find out about them by challenging them in international cricket.

Before Swann came into the Test side in 2008, people were even talking about whether there should be a place for a specialist spin bowler in the England team. I understand the desire to turn to youth but Swann was 29 when he came into the Test side. For an English spinner, experience is invaluable.

When I look around the country, I see good spin bowlers. I’ve said in this column that I’ve a lot of time for Simon Kerrigan, the Lancashire left-arm spinner. At 36, Dean Cosker is still bowling superbly for Glamorgan. I mentioned earlier in the summer that I am confident I could do a job for England at Test level.

It’s unfair to call Moeen Ali a part-time spinner, though. He’s far better than that, and I hope England keep faith with him long enough to give him the chance to show it.