Good things come to those who wait. Graeme Swann made his England debut as a raw 20-year-old in 2000, in a nondescript one-day international in Bloemfontein, but it was a brief foray into the top level. Eight years later, having learnt his trade on the county scene with Northamptonshire and then Nottinghamshire, his Test debut came against India, at Chennai, and from that point he never looked back, becoming one of England's greatest spinners.

In 60 Tests, he took 255 wickets at a touch under 30 runs apiece in a little more than five years, prolific wicket-taking exceeding anyone else in Test cricket in that period, with James Anderson (232), Stuart Broad (207) and Dale Steyn (205) behind him. He retired as England's sixth highest wicket-taker, the leading offspinner and second among all England slow bowlers only to Derek Underwood, who took 297 wickets. He was wonderfully adaptable: attuned when necessary to a defensive role to allow the quicks in England's four-strong attack time to rest, and also blessed with the ability to dip and turn the ball markedly. He was also one of England's great character cricketers, refreshingly individualistic on and off the field, bringing fun wherever he played. He was a fine slip fielder, too, although the hours spent in the field, and the training grind necessary to achieve peak physical fitness, did not always some naturally to him.

As the new millennium dawned, there was a fear that traditional offspinners were becoming defunct at the highest level. Swann was one of a special band who challenged the notion. He did not have a doosra, but he had cunning, flight and turn. He was also helped by a striking number of left-handed batsmen at the highest levels and a growing use of technology which made it more likely that umpires would uphold lbw appeals. Of his 255 wickets, 70 were lbw, compared to Laker's 32 from 193; 121 of his victims were left-handers whereas Laker only returned 32. When he retired, he felt irreplaceable.

His debut at Chennai was marked by two wickets in his first over - the knack of striking in his first over would be a skill that stayed with him - and within a few months he had usurped Monty Panesar as England's premier spinner, a position he would not relinquish. Swann loved a wise-crack (his 2010-11 Ashes video diary became an internet hit) - a trait that did not endear him to all early in his career - but it would be unfair merely to brand him as a dressing-room joker. He was the ultimate competitor on the field, often bordering on feisty, and a master of his craft. His record showed the value of developing at domestic level and the fact he was pulled out of the international game as a youngster, almost as quickly as he was handed his chance, with the severe England coach at the time, Duncan Fletcher, not alone in regarding him as somewhat immature, perhaps saved him from being overwhelmed before he was ready.

After biding his time on the domestic circuit, he soon became a matchwinner at Test level and a key part of both the one-day side and Twenty20 sides. After a successful tour of West Indies (albeit in a losing cause) he played a key role in the 2009 Ashes victories at Lord's and The Oval. Further incisive spells followed over the years to come: South Africa in Durban, Bangladesh in Chittagong, Pakistan at Edgbaston and Lord's, Australia in Adelaide, Sri Lanka in Cardiff, India at The Oval, Sri Lanka in Colombo.

During the 2012 home season, Swann's career hit a blip. The snap and spark in his bowling disappeared for a time as he was superbly played by Hashim Amla. For only the second time in his Test career he was dropped: the Test at Headingley became infamous for a text-message furore which engulfed Kevin Pietersen. However, the following winter Swann was back to being a central figure, helping England to an historic series win in India, his alliance with Monty Panesar as they claimed 19 of the 20 wickets to fall representing one of the greatest spin-bowling double acts in England's Test history. The Guardian dubbed them "the dust devils".

A recurrence of a long-standing elbow problem, which he has been forced to manage throughout his career, meant he required surgery in early 2013 and England were forced to contemplate life without Swann. He was back for that summer's Ashes, and took 26 wickets without ever being at his best, but he would not last the return series in Australia. The third Test in Perth proved to be his last. The last ball bowled he bowled in Test cricket flew deep into the Prindiville Stand at wide long-on; his final over went for 22, all to the whirring blade of Shane Watson. Seven wickets at 80 in the series, as he failed to get enough revolutions on the ball to remain a threat, represented an unhappy end.

With the Ashes lost after three Tests, Swann announced his retirement four days before the Boxing Day Test. A tour which had started with such promise for England was by then in disarray: Jonathan Trott, the long-serving No 3, had already departed with a stress-related illness. Swann's failure to see out the tour - even if only for appearances' sake - brought some accusations of selfishness, but his elbow had become increasingly debilitating and, if the manner of his parting did not find universal approval, he had served England with distinction and provided endless fun along the way. He admitted later that he felt "horrendous" about quitting when he did, but on his career as a whole, he was in no doubt. "I feel like a lottery winner," he said.
ESPNcricinfo staff

Andrew McGlashan

• April 17, 1998
  Destroyed on debut
  • Having impressed through the stages of age-group cricket, Graeme Swann makes his first-class debut in Northamptonshire's first Championship match of the 1998 season, against Surrey at The Oval. 24 days past his 19th birthday a young Swann keeps flighting the ball up at Ally Brown, who carts him for repeated sixes in a 73-ball century. Swann ends with the bruising figures of 1 for 91 from 13 overs.
    
• July 14, 1998
  Maiden first-class ton
  • Having chipped in with useful scores through the season, Swann has a monster performance against Leicestershire at Grace Road. He falls eight short of a hundred in the first innings, but, batting at number eight, makes 111 in the second.
    
• August 16, 1999
  England calling
  • After a solid second season and a good finish, particularly in one-day cricket, 21-year-old Swann is called up to the England squad for the final Test of the summer. He doesn't play and England lose the match and series to New Zealand to become the worst ranked side in the world.
    
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• November 1999 to January 2000
  Trouble in South Africa
  • As a self-proclaimed 'obnoxious loud-mouth', Swann causes trouble for everyone bar the opposition as he fails to play a Test all tour against South Africa. His lengthy list of misdemeanours include sleeping through his alarm to miss the team bus and, it later emerged, being floored by a punch from a senior fast-bowling team-mate. Swann makes his ODI debut, England's first one-day game of the new millennium, at Bloemfontein. He has a tidy match but is expelled from international cricket for the rest of Duncan Fletcher's reign.
    
• August 17, 2002
  Flying high with Michael Hussey
  • Seven years before the wicket of Hussey would seal Swann's name in cricket folklore, he shared a 318-run stand with the Australian against Gloucestershire in Bristol, making 183, his highest first-class score to date.
    
• October 2004
  Moves to Nottinghamshire
  • After a frustrating final season at Northamptonshire, where he averaged 20.71 with the bat and 38.93 with the ball, Swann moved to Nottinghamshire, with coach Mick Newell welcoming the chirpy approach that galled others. He moves into Kevin Pietersen's old house as his future England team-mate moved to Hampshire.
    
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• February to March 2005
  A-Grade in the A-Team
  • While England were climbing to their Ashes 2005 summit Swann was slowly rebuilding his career. The England selectors proved there was still some hope by including him in the England A tour to Sri Lanka. Though a disappointing tour for the team Swann emerged with his reputation enhanced.
    
• September 2007
  Finally, the beginning of the road
  • Seven years had passed since Swann's single taste of international cricket, but England under the new regime of Peter Moores he was back in favour. Monty Panesar's star was beginning to fade and Swann's all-round ability made an attractive option. He's included on England's Test and ODI squads for Sri Lanka starts the second phase of his career in the first ODI against Sri Lanka at Dambulla. Wins man of the match for his 4 for 34 and 25 that helped England to victory in the third game at the same venue.
    
• December 11, 2009
  Double on debut
  • Makes his Test debut against India at Chennai. In his first over he claims the key wickets of Gautam Gahmbir and Rahul Dravid and sets a trend that continues for striking in the first over of a spell.
    
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• February 15, 2009
  England's No.1
  • Having started the winter as Monty Panesar's understudy, Swann replaces him as the sole spinner in the side for the Test against West Indies at St John's. He celebrates by taking eight wickets in the match including his maiden five-wicket haul - 5 for 57 in the first innings.
    
• July 2009 to September 2009
  Ashes winner
  • Having started slowly at Cardiff, Swann grew in confidence playing breezy, often momentum-arresting innings with the bat through the series and taking crucial fourth-innings wickets in the win at Lord's. In the third Test at Edgbaston he produced one of the most compelling passages of play in the series, testing and teasing Ricky Pointing for five balls, before castling him with Swann's own 'ball of the century'. In the final Test at The Oval Swann was in the wickets again, taking four in the second innings including the final, Ashes-winning scalp of Michael Hussey.
    
• November 2009 to January 2010
  Soaring in South Africa
  • South Africa should never have been the venue for a finger-spinner to cement his place near the pinnacle of the game. Yet Graeme Swann's stellar performances, with bat and particular ball gifted England a series draw which they should never have earned and propelled Swann to No.3 in the world's bowling rankings. Man of the match in the first two Tests, his first innings five-wicket haul at Centurion and nine wickets to win England the Test at Durban, were pivotal in holding together an erratic four-man attack. He completed his first full year in Test cricket with 54 wickets from 11 games, second only to Mitchell Johnson in 2009.
    
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• December 2011
  Adelaide owned
  • On the truest Test wicket in Australia, England knew they needed a performance from Swann if they were to wrap up victory in the second Test, especially given that Stuart Broad had been ruled out of the rest of the game with a torn stomach muscle. He duly delivered with five second-innings wickets.
    
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