Graeme Swann came to prominence with a maiden first-class century for Northants against Leicestershire in the Championship in 1998, his first season, and was regularly promoted in the batting order to provide impetus in one-day cricket. He impressed all observers with his positive attitude and energy. Fast-tracked into the A team to tour South Africa and Zimbabwe, he took 21 wickets at 25.61, and averaged 22 with the bat.

Called up for the final Test against New Zealand during England's inglorious summer of 1999, Swann was subsequently left out of the final XI, but rewarded with a place as part of the new-look England squad to tour South Africa that winter. He found life outside the Test team frustrating, but made his international debut at Bloemfontein in the triangular tournament when Ashley Giles's injury saw him called into the one-day squad. Swann bowled only five overs, but showed confidence in continuing to spin the ball appreciably.

However, his off-field conduct left some unimpressed - what some saw as confidence, others interpreted as arrogance or cheek - and he rapidly slid out of the international reckoning. After marking time with Northants for a while, he decided to seek fame and fortune elsewhere, and packed his bags for Nottinghamshire and Trent Bridge in 2005. This decision was justified when he was a key member of the Nottinghamshire side that won the County Championship in 2005.

After the club's relegation the following summer, Swann played a major part in their return to Division One with 516 runs and 45 wickets. It earned him an international recall for the one-day series in Sri Lanka, nearly eight years after his debut. He made his Test debut against India in Chennai, taking two wickets in his first over - only the second time that has happened.

Before the winter was out Swann's variety and control, allied to his lusty lower-order hitting, had confirmed him as England's first-choice spinner in all formats, and though he started the 2009 Ashes with a nervy performance in the first Test at Cardiff, he soon settled into a crucial series of performances. He produced four-wicket hauls in both of England's victories, at Lord's and The Oval, and he had the honour of taking the decisive wicket of the series, that of Michael Hussey on the final day of the fifth Test.

As England looked to avoid the Ashes hangover that infected their 2005 success, Swann proved pivotal. He helped England to a memorable innings victory in the second Test against South Africa in Durban in December 2009. Swann collected nine wickets in the game, including 5 for 54 in the second innings, which took him to 54 wickets in 2009, the first time an England spinner has managed more than 50 in a year. The performance also propelled him to No.3 in the world, the highest ranking for an England spinner in decades and Swann is now one of the first names on the team sheet. His stature as the leader of their attack in all formats was confirmed when he finished England's leading wicket-taker during their successful 2010 World Twenty20 campaign - finishing with 10 wickets in seven matches.

He was earmarked as England's likeliest matchwinner for the tour of Australia in 2010-11, although in the event he was overshadowed by James Anderson as Michael Hussey took it upon himself to beat him out of the attack in two of the five Tests. Nevertheless, he fronted up with five matchwinning wickets in the second innings at Adelaide, and a critical holding role for the seamers at Melbourne. In between whiles, he confirmed his star status in an unconventional fashion, through his ECB video diary that revealed the inner workings of one of the most cohesive England teams of recent years.
Cricinfo staff January 2011

• 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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