Mitchell Swepson opens up about overcoming self-doubt with wickets in Sri Lanka

Talented leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson admits to being relieved after being among the key wicket-takers in the recent red-ball match against Sri Lanka. 

Swepson found it difficult to take enough wickets in his first two Tests against Pakistan earlier this year. He scalped only two wickets at an average of 133. 

However, the 28-year-old returned with five wickets in the first fixture of the Sri Lanka series and is beaming with confidence. 

Swepson admitted to being under pressure ahead of the Sri Lanka series due to the lack of wickets in the previous outings.

The leg-spinner believes that his mindset in Pakistan Tests was slightly different compared to the current tour of the Island nation. 

"I'm not going to lie, it plays on your mind," Swepson said.

"It definitely creeps in. 'Why aren't I taking wickets? What am I doing wrong here?'

"At the same time in Pakistan I know it was about trying to stay effective. A big focus of ours was trying to control the tempo of the game. That was what I had to bring my mind back to if the results weren't at my end."

Swepson is finally learning to adapt to different surfaces and is keeping track of his pace and seam. 

"You've got to adapt to the surface," Swepson said.

"Over here I've found that different paces react differently off the wickets. It's a matter of flight, it's a matter what shape you put on the ball, the angle of the seam. I found it quite effective in my first spell bowling with a squarer seam, not as over the top of the ball.

"Some were skidding past the left-hander's edge, some were ripping into his gloves."

Swepson has the India tour on the back of his mind, which will consist of a four-match red ball series in February next year. The leg-spinner wants to be the key contributor in breaching the fortress for the Australian team.  

Swepson added that his partnership with Lyon can work wonders for the Australian team in the longest format. 

"I've obviously got one eye on India. That's definitely a goal of mine. And a goal of this group is to get a series win over there," he said.

"I love bowling with Gaz (Lyon) ... It's great having an offspinner and a leg-spinner working in tandem (spinning it different ways). Again, biased opinion of mine. But I think it's something we don't see enough of in cricket."