Graeme Swann admitted England failed to build on the momentum they generated early on the second day of the first Test against Australia at Cardiff.

England's last three wickets added a further 99 this morning to post 435 in their first innings but Australia responded with hundreds from Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting to close on 249 for one.

Swann, who weighed in with an unbeaten 47 in England's tail, was frustrated the hosts failed to make deeper inroads.

The off-spinner said: “We talked this morning about getting momentum, how that would help us during the day.

“We got that momentum but it just didn't help us much.

“It was a great first session but we couldn't capitalise, that was disappointing.

“We had the wind knocked out of our sails a little bit.”

England's seamers were unable to swing the ball effectively whilst spinners Swann and Monty Panesar failed to extract significant turn.

Swann could not explain why the hosts experienced such difficulty.

He added: “We have worked hard to get swing, reverse and traditional, and it has done nothing. We don't know why.

“We couldn't get it to do anything and it is not turning much either.

“That made it difficult and it is exacerbated when you get two guys batting so well.

“We have not really bowled well as a unit all day, a few overs and a few spells excepted.”

Katich revealed how special he now finds playing, saying: “I'm just happy to be back in the team.

“I've just tried to cherish each Test match.”

On Ponting's impressive unbeaten 104, Katich added: “It was a fantastic knock, you can see the hunger in his eyes, this is a huge series for him.”

Katich also believed the capture of the wickets of Andrew Flintoff and Matt Prior late yesterday gave Australia some fresh momentum.

“I thought a few of the guys played really well yesterday but credit to our bowlers,” he added.

“The last two, late in the day changed the complexion of things.

“There is still a lot of work in front of us and there is a long way to go.”