3 minute readGraeme Swann’s retirement seems somehow emblematic of England’s current state. It sounds like he’s been aware of reduced efficacy for a while now, but could put it to the back of his mind so long as England were winning. Now they’re losing and the ensuing clarity has shunted a memorable
Continue readingTag: Graeme Swann
Something a cricketer shouldn’t say on Twitter
2 minute readWe’ve done our usual Twitter thing for Cricinfo, but you’ll notice we haven’t mentioned Ryan Harris and his Al Swearengen style whinge about not being let into some casino. Nor have we mentioned Graeme Swann. If you don’t already know, Swann’s receiving criticism for likening England’s Ashes defeat to being
Continue readingFootmarks for the spinner
2 minute readIt’s a strange and wonderful sport where two members of the opposition who aren’t even on the pitch can aid your cause, but Graeme Swann can thank Trent Boult and Neil Wagner for three of his four wickets. The two left-armers created some beautifully scruffy turf for him to aim
Continue readingGraeme Swann, his cat and drink driving
< 1 minute readAnother day, another cricket story where all the most important facts are being omitted. Graeme Swann’s defence for being caught driving while slightly under the influence at 3am was that he had to go and get some screwdrivers from Asda because the cat was caught under the floorboards. So many
Continue readingAs a spin bowler, Graeme Swann is England’s most important player
< 1 minute readHopefully no-one’s told him yet and hopefully he never realises, but England’s performance hinges on how well Graeme Swann plays. Obviously, taking nine wickets for not a lot had a huge impact on how England won this Test, but nowadays Swann HAS to perform. That’s not because England’s other bowlers
Continue readingGraeme Swann is probably underrated
< 1 minute readGraeme Swann saved England with five wickets and in an earlier pre-referral era, he might have had seven. Not bad for an off-spinner in the first innings of a match. Not bad for an off-spinner in any innings, many say. Maybe Warne and Murali are to blame, but everyone thinks
Continue readingGraeme Swann interviews
< 1 minute readYou want Graeme Swann to be man of the match every time he plays, because he’s head and shoulders above everyone else in world cricket when it comes to the post-match interview. Today’s offering after a consolation win that followed six consecutive defeats: “Everyone talks about this big word ‘momentum’.
Continue readingGraeme Swann’s joyous bat throwing
< 1 minute readAfter his lower order skittering, Graeme Swann claimed that Mushtaq Ahmed was his batting mentor. Graeme Swann’s pleasingly unafraid to tell outright lies every now and again, but we think he was serious about this. Mushtaq Ahmed shouldn’t be anybody’s batting mentor. You can’t just find the nearest person who’s
Continue readingGraeme Swann loves dismissing left-hand batsmen
< 1 minute readWe dare say Graeme Swann quite likes dismissing right-hand batsmen as well, but he doesn’t do it half as often. Of his six wickets in this match, only one was right-handed – Jerome Taylor. This is by no means unusual for Swann. Against right-handers he looks an everyday bowler. Against
Continue readingGraeme Swann takes five Test wickets
< 1 minute readIt’s a big deal. Andrew Flintoff pretty much never manages it and he’s supposed to be the best bowler since the Bowlinator 9000 perfected the 95mph googly. We don’t know for sure whether anyone ever followed our instructions as to how to help Graeme Swann into the England side from
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