Graeme Swann, a right-arm off-spinner, represented the England cricket team in 60 Tests, 79 One Day Internationals (ODI), and 39 Twenty20 Internationals (T20I) between 2000 and 2013.[1] He took eighteen five-wicket hauls in international cricket – seventeen in Tests and one in ODIs.[1] [2] In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer")[3] refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement,[4] and, only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.[2] The English cricket journalist Scyld Berry described Swann as "the best off-break bowler that England have had for more than half a century", and "the most effective spinner that England’s limited-overs teams have ever had".[5] Swann claimed 255 wickets in Test cricket, second only to Derek Underwood (297) among English spin bowlers.[6]
Swann made his Test debut in December 2008, taking four wickets in a match which England lost against India.[7] His first Test five-wicket haul came early the following year against the West Indies at the Antigua Recreation Ground, when he took five wickets for 57 runs.[8] Once during his career, Swann took five wickets in each innings of a match, against Bangladesh in 2010. This was also the first of three occasions in which he took ten wickets in a match.[9] His career-best figures for an innings were six wickets for 65 runs against Pakistan at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in August 2010.[8]
In ODI cricket, Swann made his debut in January 2000 against South Africa, but off-field misdemeanours resulted in him being dropped from the team after just one match, and he did not play international cricket again until 2007.[10] His solitary five-wicket haul in ODIs was against Australia in September 2009, a match England won by four wickets. Swann took five wickets for 28 runs in the match, and was given the man of the match award.[11] He took 104 wickets in ODIs at an average of 27.76. Swann took 51 wickets in T20I cricket,[12] but did not claim any five-wicket hauls; his best bowling figures in the format were three wickets for 13 runs.[1] As of July 2015, his combined tally of 17 five-wicket hauls is twenty-seventh in the all-time list, a position he shares with Lance Gibbs.[9]
| Symbol | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Day the Test started or ODI held | |
| Inn | The innings of the match in which the five-wicket haul was taken | |
| Overs | Number of overs bowled in that innings | |
| Runs | Runs conceded | |
| Wkts | Number of wickets taken | |
| Econ | Runs conceded per over | |
| Batsmen | The batsmen whose wickets were taken in the five-wicket haul | |
| Result | The result for the England team in that match | |
| One of two five-wicket hauls by Swann in a match | ||
| 10 wickets or more taken in the match | ||
| Swann selected as man of the match |
| No. | Date | Ground | Against | Inn | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Batsmen | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 24 | 57 | 2.37 | align=left | Drawn[13] | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | 50.4 | 165 | 3.25 | align=left | Drawn[14] | ||||||
| 3 | 1 | 45.2 | 110 | 2.42 | align=left | Drawn[15] | ||||||
| 4 | 3 | 21 | 54 | 2.57 | align=left | Won[16] | ||||||
| 5 | 2 | 29.3 | 90 | 3.05 | align=left | Won[17] | ||||||
| 6 | 4 | 49 | 127 | 2.59 | align=left | Won | ||||||
| 7 | 2 | 22.1 | 76 | 3.42 | align=left | Won[18] | ||||||
| 8 | 3 | 37 | 65 | 1.75 | align=left | Won[19] | ||||||
| 9 | 3 | 13.5 | 62 | 4.48 | align=left | Won[20] | ||||||
| 10 | 3 | 41.1 | 91 | 2.21 | align=left | Won[21] | ||||||
| 11 | 3 | 38 | 106 | 2.78 | align=left | Won[22] | ||||||
| 12 | 3 | 30 | 82 | 2.73 | align=left | Lost[23] | ||||||
| 13 | 3 | 40 | 106 | 2.65 | align=left | Won[24] | ||||||
| 14 | 1 | 51 | 144 | 2.82 | align=left | Lost[25] | ||||||
| 15 | 4 | 32 | 90 | 2.81 | align=left | Won[26] | ||||||
| 16 | 2 | 21.3 | 44 | 2.04 | align=left | Won[27] | ||||||
| 17 | 1 | 43 | 159 | 3.69 | align=left | Drawn[28] |