Pakistan v England: Graeme Swann says there's no bad blood

Graeme Swann says there will be no "bad blood" in the series between England and Pakistan despite the spot-fixing scandal that marred their last meeting.

Pakistan trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were jailed in November over a plot to bowl deliberate no-balls in a Test at Lord's in 2010.

"There is no reason for there to be any bad blood," Swann told BBC Sport.

"I would expect it to go the other way, with both teams going all out to make sure it's played in the right spirit."

Swann was playing for England in the Lord's Test in 2010 when the News of the World newspaper published a story alleging that three Pakistan players had been involved in spot-fixing during the Test.

There was a funereal atmosphere at the home of cricket later on the same Sunday as England wrapped up a 3-1 series win.

And with Butt, Amir and Asif suspended while the allegations were investigated, the subsequent five-match one-day series between the teams was a tense and unfriendly affair.

Although several other Pakistan players were named in connection with fixing during the trio's trial at Southwark Crown Court, Swann believes it is time to move on as he looks ahead to the three-Test series starting in Dubai on 17 January.

"There's no resentment. I'd expect the exact opposite to be honest," the off-spinner added.

"Those guys who were playing then are obviously not in the team now and there is absolutely no reason for there to be any bad blood."

The Test series will be England's first in the five-day format since they were crowned number one in the world rankings in August during a 4-0 whitewash of India and their first in the United Arab Emirates, where Pakistan are playing their home games because of security concerns in their homeland.

Swann is expecting a stern test from a team that has not lost any of their six Test series since their 2010 tour of England and beat Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates in October.

"I don't know what to expect; I just expect it to be hard cricket," he said.

"We have never played Test cricket over there. It's nice to be part of something new and I'm just looking forward to it."

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