by from_the_stands » Mon Dec 23, 2013 10:08 am
Having had a day to think about the retirement of Mr Momentum, I can't say that I'm really surprised. I don't think he was in decline, but he was having a poor series. If he was planning to retire at the end of this series (presumably with England winning) then going out now with the urn lost does make sense. With the next Ashes series only 18 months away, England will look to rebuild asap, and there is no time like the present. From an Oz point of view, I'd love to see the pie thrower we saw at the Oval get another run, but my guess is that Monty will fill the role until somebody better can be found. Long term, I reckon the future England spinner will be a kid I was reading about from one of the northern counties, Yorkshire probably.
The future for Mr Swann is likely to see him playing in the IPL, and maybe one or two other T20 leagues around the world. Should Murali be in his last season of the Big Bash, Swann could very well turn up for the Melbourne Renegades, especially if Fawad Ahmed gets called up to national ranks. Beyond T20, Swann will almost certainly move into the media, especially since he loves opening his mouth. I think that since he does like speaking his mind, that he would be a popular commentator.
Regarding the comments Swann has made about people in cricket being up themselves, I'm sure he said that in the hope of selling a few books when he gets around to writing them, and I'm pretty sure that the comment was largely directed at Australian players and other personnel associated with the game. The Oz players are definitely up themselves... and I would be too if I was playing Test cricket!
When all is said and done, Graeme Swann has been a fantastic servant for English cricket. His efforts were instrumental in helping England reach the pinnacle of the Test world. He gave England something they haven't had since goodness knows when; a world class spinner. He played the game the way it should be played, and will sorely be missed by a team now in transition.
"Hey, doll. Could you scare up another round for our table over here? And tell the cook this is low grade dog food. I've had better food at the ballgame, you know? This steak still has marks from where the jockey was hitting it." Al Czervik, aka Rodney Dangerfield in "Caddyshack" (1980)
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