Former Test spinner Norman Gifford has expressed concern at the lack of quality slow bowlers climbing through the ranks in England.

Off-spinner Graeme Swann and left-armer Monty Panesar, who shared 19 wickets in the tourists' 10-wicket triumph over India in the second Test last week, are the nation's first-choice spin bowlers.

Potential successors to the 33-year-old Swann and 30-year-old Panesar, however, are far and few between, according to Gifford, who played 15 Tests and clinched 2,068 first-class wickets between 1963 and 1988.

"Our performance in the current series has been brilliant but what slightly worries me is do we have the depth behind Swan and Panesar? I don't think we have at the moment," he told Press Association Sport.

"You've got young Danny Briggs, who has done well, you've got Azeem Rafiq at Yorkshire, George Dockrell at Somerset, and the young Simon Kerrigan at Lancashire. But, when you look at the 18 counties, there are not many spinners playing in first-class cricket."

The 72-year-old Gifford lauded the resurgence of Panesar, whose return to the Test XI brought a match haul of 11 for 210 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, growing his career tally to 153 from 43 matches.

"I said to Monty 'just keep going mate and your chance will come again'. I said 'we haven't got many spinners around and if we go to places where we need two, you will be in'. He had a great start and a bit of a lean time and people were knocking him. He's kept going and managed to get an opportunity now again and has got a lot of wickets," concluded Gifford.