Meet the Swann family,and their prankster son

The mood in the England camp can be gauged by the happy slip cordon,especially when Swann is around. Father Raymond says that Andrew Strauss seemed a relieved man at Trent Bridge when a hand injury had forced Graeme to field in the deep.

“He is either in splits because of some joke that Graeme has cracked or has his fingers in his ears,” he says. With the motor-mouth within handshaking distance,the boredom of a long-drawn day doesn’t affect the team. Raymond adds how Strauss loves pulling his son’s leg by calling him a “buffoon” and Graeme gets back by labelling the England captain “upper-class”.

England’s rivals too have heard a lot about Graeme,but never anything objectionable. Mitchell Johnson,during the bitter Ashes series,confessed that Graeme was “clever” with his retorts during the on-field wars of words. Behind those funny tweets,tour diaries and banter happens to be a constantly ticking brain of an intelligent,thoughtful and a very well-read person. Mavis says her son is a keen reader of history and war books.

Graeme’s attitude and persona were shaped by an atmosphere at home that allowed children to be themselves. Club player all his life,Raymond,who is likely to make it to the England 60-plus team,never forced his sons to pursue cricket. Mavis taught at school but when Graeme told her that college for him would be a waste of family money as he was likely to spend his time getting drunk,she allowed her son to pursue cricket.

Jokes apart

But not everyone has taken a liking to Graeme’s attitude. Keepler Wessels,his coach at Northamptonshire,a known disciplinarian,gave his team strict instructions: “No one is to laugh at Swanny’s jokes.” Considering his wit,it was a tough ask for the team. It was tougher for Graeme,who even thought of quitting the game. He moved to Nottinghamshire,and his career has never looked back. Later,the England set-up too encouraged him to be himself.

His bowling mirrors his attitude. The energetic run-up,the spring before release and the constant endeavour to out-think the batsman makes him a sight to watch. Raymond looks for two things in his son to check if he’s in his groove. “If I’m sitting behind him I look for the middle to off stump drift in the air. If I’m on the square I look for the extra stride in his follow through. If these things are in place it means he is tweaking the ball perfectly and is getting the dip and revolutions,” he says.

Everybody in the family vouches for Graeme’s conscientiousness. “We were at his house in Nottingham during the Test and volunteered to baby-sit our nephew so that the couple could go out. Graeme said the Test was on and slept at 10,” says Mavis. Raymond remembers the post-Ashes meeting he had with his son,who had bowled 40 overs that day. “He was exhausted and his spinning finger was bleeding. He was in real pain once he was sober after the long celebration,” says the father with a hearty laugh. At the Swann household,they always see the lighter side.