Swann in bullish mood

England spinner Graeme Swann has the utmost respect for his fellow exponent Daniel Vettori - but that does not mean he or any of his team-mates will be wary of the New Zealand captain today.

Vettori's team potentially stand between England and a place in the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20. But even if South Africa beat Pakistan in today's first Super Eight match at the Beausejour Stadium, England need only to avoid a wide-margin defeat against the Kiwis at the same venue to make sure they progress to the last four.

"Dan Vettori is the best one-day spinner in the world. I'm not a great man for looking at figures but you don't need to; you watch him bowl - his change of flight, pace and everything is second to none," said Swann. "But we won't go into the game worrying about him; we'll go into it looking to target him as well as the other Kiwi bowlers."

Swann and slow left-armer Michael Yardy once again proved the worth of spinners in this Caribbean tournament by taking five top-order wickets as England trounced South Africa at Kensington Oval on Saturday.

They did so with the help of Kevin Pietersen, who left for England within hours of winning that match to be at the birth of his first child in London.

Pietersen is expected back in time for a semi-final on Thursday or Friday.

Swann conceded: "It's obviously a loss not to have Kevin for the next game.

"But after winning these last two, it probably makes it a little bit easier."