In December 2009, he became the first English spinner to take 50 wickets in a calendar year, culminating in back-to-back man of the match awards in the first two Tests of the tour of South Africa and rising to third place in the world rankings for bowlers.

[3] In March 2010, Swann became the first English off-spinner since Jim Laker to take 10 wickets in a match when he achieved the feat in England's victory in the first Test in Bangladesh.

He remained in the squad but faced tough competition from Samit Patel, who had already taken his first ODI five-wicket haul, against South Africa in his third match.

At the end of the one-day series against the same opposition, the England players were permitted to rejoin their counties in the build-up to the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 tournament.

Swann gave a good account of himself in the World Twenty20, bowling tidily for his five wickets "while showing the passion for playing for his country that," according to journalist Nick Hoult, "endears him to England supporters.

Panesar was selected for the first Test, but his bowling did not impress and he was dropped for the remainder of the series, leaving Swann as England's only slow bowler.

Swann took the final wicket of Mitchell Johnson, bowled for 63, to finish with second-innings figures of 4 for 87 and complete England's first victory against Australia at Lord's since 1934.

At Edgbaston, Swann was only required to bowl two first-innings overs, but nonetheless made England's first breakthrough, trapping Simon Katich lbw to end an 85-run opening partnership.

With the bat he contributed 24 from 20 balls as England's lower-middle order powered the side to a 113-run first-innings lead, and with England pursuing victory he clean bowled Ricky Ponting with a sharply turning offbreak, but on the final day his bowling was anodyne, failing to take another wicket as Australia drew the match with ease, losing only three wickets on the final day.

At Headingley Swann made a duck in England's first-innings collapse to 102 all out, and failed to take a wicket in Australia's total of 445.

His lower-order batting also proved useful, helping save one match,[15][16] and his Test-best knock of 85 in the first fixture was the highest score of the England innings.

[22] Even with a weakened side, taking the opportunity to blood new players, England were expected to easily win the two-match Test series.

[24] The performance, claiming 10/217 from 78.3 overs, earned him the Man of the Match award and raised him to second place in the ICC's Test bowling rankings.

In the field he alertly caught Shane Watson in the slips after wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter parried the ball toward Swann.

[29] Swann's performances won widespread applause for his ability to adapt to the different forms of the game and to retain control over his bowling.

The ECB declared his international career to be a "remarkable 12 months in which his attacking offspin and hard-hitting lower-order batting have proved instrumental in one of the most successful years that the England cricket team has ever known.

The latter achievement saw his name go on the Lord's honours board for the first time, however the match was overshadowed by newspaper allegations of Pakistan players being involved in spot-fixing.

He finished the series with 15 wickets at an average of 39.80, economy of 2.72 and a strike rate of 87.6, these figures are much greater to that of the several Australian spinners, Xavier Doherty and Michael Beer, with the latter making his debut in the final test at Sydney.

Graeme Swann played a pivotal role in England's series success down under, with control and his wicket taking abilities when needed.

England's seam attack troubled India's batsmen, leaving Swann little to do and he was restricted to four wickets at a cost of more than 80 runs each from the first three matches.

Both the regular captain and vice-captain, Stuart Broad and Eoin Morgan respectively, were injured at the time and Swann led the team in their absence.

England lost all three Tests as their batsmen struggled to adapt to Asian pitches,[46] particularly the bowling of off-spinner Saeed Ajmal.

His worth to the team was recognised when the Professional Cricketers' Association named Swann England's Most Valued Player of the winter and gave him a £2,000 prize.

Though England had lost to Pakistan and drawn with Sri Lanka in the winter, English conditions were expected to favour their seam bowlers and spin would play a less significant role in the series.

In the event Kevin Pietersen was called on to bowl 16 overs in the match and took 4 wickets with his part-time off-breaks and Swann was immediately recalled to the side.

Swann played in all five matches, managing seven wickets and was the team's joint second-highest wicket-taker behind fast bowler Steven Finn.

[67] Commentator Peter Roebuck suggested in March 2010 that Swann's success has been due as much to his attitude as skill: He plays cricket like a man eager for a scrap and not too bothered about the niceties.

He bowls like a man expecting to take wickets and unaware that fingerspin had been consigned to the dustbin (at any rate unless it was backed up by a mystery ball or curious conveyance and bewildering progress).

He is the lead singer of the rock band Dr Comfort and the Lurid Revelations which plays cover songs in gigs around Nottinghamshire.

[71] On 2 April 2010 he was stopped by police in West Bridgford, Nottingham following a party and was arrested after providing a positive breath test.