Swann wants to make the most of home advantage

Graeme Swann has pleaded with the groundsmen at England's international venues to give the team the best chance possible of winning matches.

England faced Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge today needing victory to square the five-match series and set up a decider at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Sri Lanka outplayed England at Headingley and Lord's after Alastair Cook's reign as permanent one-day captain had begun with an impressive 110-run victory at The Oval last Tuesday. While Swann admitted England had been below par in the second and third matches, he claimed they had not been helped by the conditions.

"I'm a big believer in using home advantage," said the off-spinner. "When we go to Sri Lanka, they don't play on green seamer-friendly wickets just so they can get used to the conditions before a tour of England.

"Because we have a strong seam attack and have batsmen who are good players of seam bowling, I'd like to see wickets with more pace and carry. I think we all would.

"The last two wickets at Headingley and Lord's have, you could argue, been fairly subcontinental in the way they have played and that has played into the hands of the Sri Lankans a bit.

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