Graeme Swann

Profile

Following his Test debut in 2008, Graeme Swann’s rise to the pinnacle of spin bowling has been mercurial. Despite not being the biggest turner of the ball, his ability to loop and drift the cricket ball makes Swann a difficult bowler to predict.

The right-arm off-break bowler got his first taste of England action back in the turn of the millennium on tour to South Africa. An economical spell wasn’t enough to earn a recall. During his 7-year England hiatus, Swann impressed with both bat and ball for his county Nottinghamshire, and his tally of 516 runs and 45 wickets in 2007 was finally deemed too good to overlook for an ODI return. “Chin" as he is fondly called, won his maiden Test cap against India in 2008. He was summoned to bowl in tandem with ex-county team-mate Monty Panesar on a batsman-friendly Chennai surface and took four wickets over two innings in a comfortable Indian victory. With Panesar’s slow decline, Swann’s performance simultaneously improved and in subsequent ODIs and T20Is against the likes of New Zealand, India and the West Indies, he combined wickets with good economy to merit a call-up to the 2009 Ashes. His heroics in the series with both bat and ball became integral in England’s 2-1 win.

During the ICC World T20 event in 2010, Swann was the stand-out bowler for England, helping his country take home its first-ever ICC trophy. Later, in 2011, the off-spinner was handed England's T20 captaincy for their series against the West Indies, after the then captain Stuart Broad's niggling shoulder injury sidelined him for quite a while.

Fast Facts

• Graeme Swann was the first English spinner to take 50 wickets in a calendar year.

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Career

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