Graeme Swann reignites a dying flame; The art of off-spin is back on the market

A very familiar sight for England fans; Graeme Swann celebrates another wicket

English off-spinners are a bit like Wispa chocolate bars. They come and go because they don't stand out from the Galaxy or the Mars Bar, and every so often you have the urge to change course, perhaps to a Dairy Milk or a Twix. They don't satisfy your needs for very long.

In recent history, England have had a number of flirtations with various off-spin bowlers, more frequently of the left-arm variety. Phil Tufnell, Ashley Giles, Monty Panesar, even Ian Blackwell at one stage. Whilst the first 3 aforementioned names never did much wrong, they failed to produce what England really needed to become a threat on the world stage. Tufnell was a great character, a committed, all-action bowler. He was comedy gold with the bat and in the field, something that ultimately let him down throughout his England career. You could never quite take him seriously. The same can be said for Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, commonly known as 'Monty'. He was arguably a better bowler than Tufnell ever was, but his regular fumbles in the outfield and his inability to improve on his limited batting prowess meant that he was never really going to be a long-term candidate to fill the spinner's void. Indeed, it was clear that should his form with the ball waver, his place in the XI would be very much under scrutiny. Thanks to a number of disappointing performances, Monty has failed to nail down a first team spot ever since the unsuccessful tour of the West Indies in 2009. In fact, his only outstanding contribution since the Port-of-Spain test came with the bat. He defied belief in the opening test of the Ashes last summer, as a partnership of 19 with James Anderson for the last wicket secured a draw at Cardiff. It proved to be a vital period of the summer, as England went on to regain the Ashes with a 2-1 victory. Unfortunately for Monty, that proved to be his last contribution for the side to this day.

Sandwiched somewhere in between Tufnell and Panesar was Ashley Giles. Equally as affective with the ball as Tuffers and Monty, but far more adept with the willow in hand. Giles, comically known as the 'King of Spain' thanks to a misprint on the merchandise at Warwickshire, was to play vital roles in the victorious tours of the West Indies and South Africa in the mid 2000's, as well as in the historic 2005 home Ashes series. Whilst he struggled to consistently deliver wickets for his side, he scored crucial runs at exactly the right time to ensure England were rarely playing catchup. Nevertheless, Giles was in the side for his wickets, and the 2006/07 Ashes series down under saw the end of his international career. Injury and loss of form were the prime reasons for his disappearance from the England scene.

Gone are the days of Tufnell, Giles and Panesar. Enter Graeme Swann. A late developer into the England fold, Swann has the bubbly character of Tufnell, the stalwart work-ethic of Giles, and the constant excitement that Panesar always seemed to ooze. He is that, and so much more. Having made his international bow way back in 2000 against South Africa, Swann had to wait a further 8 years to get a 2nd bite at the cherry, and boy has he taken it. He made a quiet, but solid introduction to test match cricket in Chennai two winters ago, and has not looked back since. One-and-a-half years on, and Swann is on the verge of claiming his 100th test match wicket, 50th ODI wicket, and also occupies 4th position in the ICC world rankings for bowlers. At 31, Swann is doing his best to make up for lost time, in the same way Michael Hussey has done with the bat for Australia. He is arguably the most feared spinner in the world now that Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan has hung up his boots. It's fair to say he has taken the world by storm, and there seems to be no stopping him.

Swann's recipe for success is simple. He drips with self-confidence, almost arrogance at times, and that makes him who he is. He has a certain swagger, unparalleled with few in the modern game. Kevin Pietersen has it. Sachin Tendulkar has it. Swann is in great company. He also has an attitude to be admired by every youngster aspiring to be an international cricketer. He knows his limits, he knows how good a player he can be, and he does everything he can to fulfill that potential. He constantly strives to be the best, he lives and breathes cricket, and he simply loves representing his country, something that our footballers should take a very long look at.

Along with a superb attitude and untouchable confidence, Swann's ability cannot be ignored. Not only when ripping those offys and slipping in the odd arm-ball, but also when he's batting. He's an aggressor, someone who can take the game to a team. He can change the momentum down the order and lift spirits in the dressing room, even with a quickfire 30 or 40. It's an ability that the likes of Giles and Panesar didn't have, and whilst Giles could offer admirable support and resolution at number 8, Swann can do much more in a shorter space of time. His slip-catching shouldn't be ignored either. Lower-order big-hitting off-spinners don't tend to have a place in the slip cordon, but SwannCollingwood. All in all, it's a very impressive catching unit.

Whilst all this is a blessing for England, there is one thing in particular that makes Swann so special. It's very easy to be just another off-spinner. They're hardly the most spectacular bowlers on the planet, with the exception of Murali who was a unique entity. They are not the type of bowlers that you'll hear your kid say, "I'd love to be an off-spinner. They're so exciting". However, Swann has re-invented the art of off-spinning, somehow. He turns it big, he has a brilliantly disguised arm-ball, but it's something else that makes him stand out from the rest. It's the fact that as soon as he enters the attack, something happens. Panesar had that knack for a period of time, but nowhere near as frequent and remarkable as Swann's ability to make a breakthrough immediately. Including the ongoing test match against Pakistan at Edgbaston, Swann has taken a wicket in the first over of a new spell 20 times. It's a staggering statistic, and one which makes him such a prize asset in the England attack. What is more impressive is the fact that he doesn't necessarily bowl on big-turning wickets. English tracks aren't historically big rippers, and he has only played on the subcontinent once for England. It's a credit to Swann for his cricketing brain and his consistency with the ball that such a statistic exists.

With the 2010/11 Ashes series on the horizon, Swann is playing at the top of his game. He is also extremely well-supported, with James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn producing some wonderful form. Salman Butt, Pakistan's newest captain, recently suggested that his bowling unit of Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul are the best in the world. Having watched and analysed the performances of England's pace trio, along with Swann himself, I would tend to disagree with that assessment. It's a unit which goes a long way to ensuring England don't endure another 5-0 whitewash at the hands of the old enemy, and for Graeme Swann, it's a great time to really push his case to be one of England's greatest spin bowlers.