TRENT Bridge celebrates one of its great modern heroes and characters this summer, and cricket fans are invited to kick off the party next week.
Graeme Swann has been given a benefit year this year by Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club.
The Notts and England bowler, purveyor of wicked spin on the field and wicked wit off it, has called in a few friends from the England side to get the yearlong party started.
The year of events kicks off tomorrow, with a launch dinner at Colwick Hall Hotel. Also attending will be former England captain Andrew Strauss, England fast bowler Jimmy Anderson, Notts and England teammate Stuart Broad and the rest of the Notts side.
For Swann, who came to Trent Bridge from Northamptonshire nine years ago, a benefit year from the club is a special honour.
This is the place where he resurrected his England career and started on the path to being one of the most respected spinners of his generation – and it remains a place he loves going to.
"It's a ground I get a glow when I walk into," he said. "You look out the pavilion, onto the pitch, it's still special."
Swann is currently rehabilitating his elbow after surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota earlier in the spring.
He aims to be back to full fitness by the time Australia arrives at Trent Bridge for the summer's first Ashes Test, which begins July 10.
In the meantime though, he's got a big party planned for tomorrow.
On the evening, Swann, Anderson, Strauss and Broad will take part in a Q&A session hosted by England's chairman of selectors Geoff Miller.
Doctor Comfort and the Lurid Revelations, the band led by guitarist and former Notts spin bowler Andy Afford (and sometimes joined by Swanny) will also perform.
And there will be an auction, with prizes including a place for your child as the official mascot for the England team at the Trent Bridge Ashes Test.
Individual tickets are available for £70 or tables for £700 for the Thursday event. Visit swannybenefityear.com or email hello@swannybenefityear.com for details.
