Ashes hero Swann came close to quitting cricket
ENGLAND Ashes hero Graeme Swann has admitted he was on the brink of quitting the game during a seven-year spell in the international wilderness.
Swann fell out of favour with coach Duncan Fletcher after oversleeping and missing the team bus on his first England tour, the 1999-2000 trip to South Africa.
It was not until 2007 that he was finally recalled, but not before he had given serious thought to retiring and pursuing a career as a journalist.
And as he prepares to return to South Africa for another England tour, Swann said: “When I was playing at Northants at the end I couldn’t have been further away from playing for England.
“I didn’t even want to play cricket – for Northants or Northampton Saints, let alone England. I wanted to give up and become a hack. There was a lot of time when I couldn’t imagine playing for England again.”
The 30-year-old made his Test debut against India last year and has since become England’s top slow-bowler. But he said: “I daren’t look further than the next 18 months.”