Exclusive – Flower: Swann a natural choice after Broad and Morgan

England coach Andy Flower has explained to talkSPORT that Graeme Swann was the natural choice to replace Stuart Broad as captain of the Twenty20 side with Eoin Morgan also ruled out.

Swann has become the fifth captain of the summer for England sides across all formats of the game.

And Flower insists his knowledge of the game and prominence within the England set-up means he was always likely to become skipper.

He told Drive Time: “[Eoin] Morgan would have been a natural successor but obviously with both [he and Stuart Broad] injured we needed a set captain and Swann’s status in our side, his experience, he’s got a load of Test and One Day experience.

“He’s also an integral part of our Twenty20 which has had some reasonable success over the last 18 months [which means] he’s a natural choice after Broad and Morgan.”

Flower is also excited about the future of England’s Twenty20 side as several youngsters were drafted into the squad to face West Indies.

He added: “There is some really exciting young talent in the Twenty20 squad that’s been picked for those two games against the West Indies and it’s a very good opportunity for them to display their skills against another international side.”