Nottinghamshire spinner Graeme Swann says that he is flattered to have been highlighted as England’s key man by Australian legend Shane Warne.

Swann took five wickets as England beat Western Australia in their first tour match and is a virtual certainty for the Test team to contest the first Ashes Test in Brisbane later this month.

"It's nice that Shane Warne remembers me in the first place because I didn't really give him any reason to, and he recognises I've been bowling well recently," said Swann.

"I was rubbish when I played against him five years ago. I was just dwindling away in county cricket. I was enjoying my time but I wasn't good enough to perform at Test level.  

"It's very nice when people say that I hold the key, especially the best bowler in the world ever. But I don't feel any extra pressure, I feel the same pressure that you do as the single spinner in a four-man attack. I know I'm going to have to bowl a lot of overs.”

Swann took the final wicket in England’s Ashes triumph on home soil last year to complete a 14-wicket series haul but hopes that Australian conditions will help him recreate the form he found in South Africa where he took 21 wickets at 31.58.

"I don't think I bowled particularly well through that last Ashes series,” he said.

“A couple of matches aside I was a little bit below par, probably just riding the wave, if you like, of the Ashes.

"This time around I'm looking forward to hopefully carrying on the form I had in South Africa last year on very similar wickets where I bowled fairly well and was able to hold an end down and pick up a few scalps along the way.”