Graeme Swann

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Personal information
Graeme Swann

England
Batting style	Right hand bat
Bowling style	Right arm off break
Career statistics
	Tests	ODIs
Matches	-	5
Runs scored	-	83
Batting average	-	27.66
100s/50s	-	0/0
Top score	-	34

Balls bowled	-	270
Wickets	-	7
Bowling average	-	25.71
5 wickets in innings	-	0
10 wickets in match	-	n/a
Best bowling	-	4/34
Catches/stumpings	-/-	5/-
As of 14 October 2007 Source: Cricinfo

Graeme Peter Swann (born March 24, 1979) is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler. He made his cricketing debut with home team Northamptonshire in 1997. Swann played a single One-day International against South Africa. Though his 2005 season couldn't top his success in 2004, where he joined the National Academy, he managed to take 30 wickets during Nottinghamshire's County Championship winning season of 2005. In 2007 Swann was chosen to accompany England on their tour of Sri Lanka as their 2nd off spin bowler, along with Monty Panesar.

[edit] Career

Swann began his domestic career for Northamptonshire, hitting a maiden first-class hundred in 1998. Touring South Africa and Zimbabwe with the England A-team, Swann took 21 wickets at 25.61. While averaging 22 with the bat, Wisden commented that "Swann did spin the ball appreciably and emerged as a definite candidate for elevation. He had the potential to become a genuine allrounder, with a wide range of attractive strokes, though he needs to use them more selectively."^[1] In 1999 Swann was brought into the England team during the final test against New Zealand. He did not play, however he was played in an ODI against South Africa following an injury to Ashley Giles.^[1]

Returning to domestic cricket, Swann moved to Nottinghamshire in 2005. Swann finished the season of 2007 with 516 runs and 45 wickets in domestic cricket, which led to his recall to the England side against Sri Lanka.^[1] While England fell heavily in defeat during the first match, Swann hit 34 to help seal a victory for England in the second match, and took 4/34 and hit 25 in the third as England took a lead in the series of 2:1.^[2]

After the strong series against Sri Lanka, Swann drew critisism after the subsequent tour of New Zealand during which the press noted that he had become particularly arrogant about his role in the side after he began filling out tour blogs and writing regular columns for the papers about the teams performances and progress despite him only being a part time fixture in the side [1]. Out of the 5 ODIs against New Zealand, Swann only played in 2 of them, scoring just 8 runs and going for 44 runs off just 5 overs with no wicket, an economy rate of almost 9 an over. This may have been Swanns final chance in the one day side as Jamie Dalrymple who played a similar role in the side (allrounder that bowled spin) was dropped under similar circumstances [2], however Swann continued to write his columns after being dropped for the following 3 matches [[3]] and it was subsequently claimed that he believes that he is already a permanent fixture in the England side despite playing only 7 one days in total and being aided by spin-friendly conditions in Sri Lanka, most notably Dambulla [4] Swann picked up all 7 of his one day international wickets in the three matches played at Dambulla[5] but has been wicketsless in his other 4 matches played at other venues [6]