Top 5 bowling spells by Graeme Swann

To state that Graeme Swann was a late bloomer in international cricket would be an understatement. Having made his England debut in the ODI format way back in 2000, Swann had to wait nearly eight years for his next crack at the highest level of the game.

But since making his Test debut against India in 2008 at the age of 29, there was no looking back for Swann who established himself as one of England's greatest spinners before his sudden retirement from international cricket midway through the 2013-14 Ashes series at the age of 34.

Swann is the first English spinner to take 50 wickets in a calendar year and rose to the top of the ICC World rankings for bowlers in ODIs in 2011.

Despite his Test career being limited to just 5 years, Swann finished with 255 wickets to his name from 60 Tests and was part of three consecutive Ashes series-winning sides for England.

Since his debut in December 2008 and up until his retirement, Swann was the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.

He was prolific in limited-overs cricket as well picking up 104 wickets from 79 ODIs and 51 wickets from 39 T20Is.

While Swann was always consistent with his bowling, there were times when he was simply unplayable and won the match for England almost single-handedly.

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#5 - 8/113 vs India at Mumbai, 2nd Test, England's tour of India, 2012/13

England surprised many when they outplayed India in their own backyard to clinch the 4-match Test series 2-1 and the highlight of the series was their resounding win at Mumbai by 10 wickets.

The hosts started strongly as expected, winning the series opener at Ahmedabad but were in for a rude shock in the next game at Mumbai getting beaten at their own game - spin bowling.

England's spin duo of Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann picked up 19 of the 20 Indian wickets to fall, with Gautam Gambhir's dismissal in the second ball of the match the lone exception.

Despite Gambhir's early dismissal, India managed to score 327 in the first innings with Swann picking up 4 wickets, including that of centurion Cheteswar Pujara and Yuvraj Singh.

Alastair Cook's 122 and a majestic 186 by Kevin Pietersen helped England take an 86-run first inning lead before the English spinners ran through the Indian batting order to set up an easy victory for the visitors.

Once again, it was Swann who dismissed Pujara while he also picked up India's leading run-scorer in the second innings - Gambhir - as well as the wicket of Virat Kohli.

#4 - 5/28 vs Australia, 7th ODI, Australia tour of England, 2009

Swann's 5-wicket haul helped England avoid a series whitewash against their arch-rivals

While England won the 2009 Ashes series 2-1, the seven-match ODI series that followed turned out to be a nightmare for the hosts as they lost the first six matches.

However, they avoided a whitewash by winning the final match of the series at Chester-le-Street thanks to Swann's brilliant spell of bowling - his first and only 5-wicket haul in the 50-over format.

England made a good start with the pacers getting rid of both the Australian openers - Shane Watson and Tim Paine - with just 17 runs on the board.

Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke tried to resurrect the Australian innings with a 79-run stand for the third wicket but Swann got rid of the former just when he looked set for a big score, thereby derailing the opposition innings.

Wickets kept falling at regular intervals after that with Swann leading the way as he added the wickets of Cameron White, Mitchell Johnson, James Hopes and Brett Lee to complete his best figures in ODI cricket.

Australia were dismissed for 176 with England winning the contest with four wickets in hand and ten overs to spare. Swann was adjudged the Man-of-the-Match for his figures of 10-1-28-5.

#3 - 8/158 vs Australia, 2009 Ashes, 5th Test

Swann was a part of three Ashes-winning England sides

As stated earlier, Swann was part of three Ashes-winning English sides, playing a major part in the each of those triumphs.

While his nine-wicket haul in the Lord's Test during the 2013/14 Ashes series as well as his seven-wicket haul at Adelaide in 2010 are noteworthy mentions, perhaps his most vital contribution in an Ashes series came during the 5th Test of his first Ashes experience in 2009.

The series was level at 1-1 heading into the decider at The Oval but the momentum was firmly with the visitors having won the fourth Test by an innings and 80 runs.

It was England skipper Andrew Strauss won the all-important toss and decided to bat first, saw his side score 332 in the first innings. In reply, the Australians found the duo of Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann too hot to handle as they picked up nine wickets between them to help dismiss the visitors for just 160 runs.

The hosts pressed home the advantage by scoring 373 runs in the second innings and faced with a daunting target of 545, Ricky Ponting's side were unable to cope up as they fell short by 197 runs.

Swann picked up his second 4-wicket haul of the match to finish with figures of 8/158 as England won the 2009 Ashes series 2-1.

#2 - 10/132 vs New Zealand at Headingley, 2nd Test, New Zealand tour of England, 2013

Swann had only one wicket to show in the Lord's Test but made amends with his performance in Headingley

New Zealand's tour of England in 2013 featured a two-Test series that provided Swann with contrasting fortunes in the space of a few days.

The first Test at Lord's turned out to be one to forget for Swann who picked up just 1 wicket in the match. But he amends with his performance in the second Test at Headingley picking up his third and what proved to be his final ten-wicket haul in Test cricket.

Batting first, England scored 354 thanks to a century from Joe Root, while the tourists were dismissed for just 174 runs in their first innings.

Swann was the pick of the bowlers for England, picking up 4 wickets from just nine overs.

With a big lead in the kitty, the hosts went about scoring their runs quickly in the second innings, scoring 287/5 before declaring their innings.

Needing 468 to win, Swann thwarted any hopes of a New Zealand victory by picking up six second-innings wickets to finish with match figures of 132, thereby picking up the Man-of-the-Match award as well.

#1 - 9/164 vs South Africa at Durban, 2nd Test, December 26-29, 2009

Swann's nine-wicket haul helped England beat the hosts by an innings and 98 runs

Swann was prolific during England's tour of South Africa in 2009/10 winning Man-of-the-Match awards in the first two Tests and finishing with 21 wickets to his name from 4 matches, thereby helping him rise to the No 3 ranking for bowlers in Test cricket.

The second Test at Supersport Park, Durban saw Swann at the peak of his performance as he picked up four wickets in the first innings before following up with a five-wicket haul as the hosts lost the contest by an innings and 98 runs.

The Proteas gave a good account of themselves after electing to bat first, posting 343 runs on the board. However, centuries from Alastair Cook and Ian Bell helped the visitors to a formidable total of 574.

Swann gave the hosts no chance for a fightback as he destroyed the South African top-order to help his side to victory by a big margin. Interestingly, all of Swann's nine wickets were different players with the off-spinner only failing to pick up the wickets of AB de Villiers and JP Duminy during the match.

Swann's match figures of 9/164 earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. The series ended in a 1-1 draw after the hosts won the final Test at Johannesburg by an innings and 74 runs.