England's Graeme Swann takes a catch to dismiss Australia's Brad Haddin during the fourth day of the third Ashes test cricket match at the WACA ground in Perth December 16, 2013.

Graeme Swann may have left his teammates with a parting gift of a snide remark against "some of them," he refuses to admit that his remark was a criticism against them.

Swann indicated that some of his teammates “have no idea how far up their own backsides they are. It will bite them on the arse one day and when it does I hope they look back and are embarrassed about how they carry on." He made this comment in the press conference when he declared his shocking exit from the international cricket in the middle of the Ashes series against Australia.

Swann said that he did not mean it for any of the present players in the team. Former England Captain Michael Vaughan was quick to react to Swann’s remark on Twitter. He agreed with Swann that “some players are getting ahead of themselves,” but he said that Swann should not have talked about it on the day he retired from the international cricket.

I agree with @Swannyg66 that some players are getting ahead of themselves but I don't think he should have said it the day after retiring...

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) December 22, 2013

Vaughan further wrote to Swann: “We all make mistakes.. I make plenty ... I am afraid on this occasion you have made one ..”. Australian legendary cricketer Shane Warne, on the other hand, was quick to defend Swann. He said that Swann might have said those things to inspire the team which may suffer a 5-0 whitewash in the series otherwise. Swann’s teammate Monty Panesar has also defended Swann by saying that Swann is always supportive of the team.

English spin bowler Graeme Swann’s retirement from the international cricket shocked many. Swann declared his retirement on December 22, only four days before the Boxing Day Test starts against Australia in the on-going Ashes series. Even though England has already lost the series 3-0 to Australia, the remaining two tests will be an opportunity for the England team to restore some respect.

Swann has been a quality spinner for his side since began his test career in 2008 against India. He took 255 wickets in 60 tests at an average of 29.96.