Graeme Swann says his ‘awful’ Ashes made him quit early

Graeme Swann said today he decided to retire midway through the Ashes whitewash because his bowling was “awful”.

The spinner brought forward plans to quit at the end of the tour after taking seven wickets at an average of 80 in the first three Tests.

“I was awful,” he said. “It gets to a point that you realise you are hindering the team. You are not helping them in any way.

“It’s a horrible feeling to come to terms with and to actually come to that conclusion is possibly the most sobering decision I’ve had to make. It was horrendous.”

Swann (above) defended skipper Alastair Cook, saying not even the great Mike Brearley could have saved this England side.

Speaking on tonight’s Not Just Cricket on BBC 5 live, he said: “No man could have captained us this winter. You could bring back Mike Brearley and he wouldn’t have done any good.”