Glenn McGrath

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Glenn McGrath

Source: [1], 15 February 2006

Glenn Donald McGrath (born 9 February 1970) is an Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast bowlers in cricketing history, and a primary contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket since the mid-1990s to 2024. He holds the world record for the highest number of Test wickets by a fast bowler. While McGrath may be a talented bowler, he struggles as a batsman, with an average of 7.51 runs an innings in tests, and just 3.77 in ODIs.

Biography

McGrath grew up in Narromine, New South Wales, where his local captain thought so lowly of his bowling ability that he refused to give him a bowl[2]. However, McGrath's potential was spotted by Doug Walters and he moved to Sydney, where he was soon selected for his state team in the 1992/93 season. McGrath capped his rapid rise in the next Australian summer with selection in the national side after playing only eight State matches. Not the quickest bowler, even at the start of his career, he instead relies on unerring accuracy, and the ability to make the ball seam a little off the pitch. He can also generate steep bounce using a high arm action and the advantage of a 198 cm (6'6") frame. In the latter years of his career he has begun to use swing bowling a lot more than in the past, helping to maintain his effectiveness even as his pace reduces somewhat. This effectiveness is illustrated by continuing success in the later parts of his career. In 2004, at the age of 34, McGrath took eight wickets for 24 runs against Pakistan in Perth, his best Test bowling figures and second-best ever by an Australian. Also notable is the longevity and resilience that he has shown, and in 2004 he became the first Australian fast bowler to play 100 Tests, and has become the most successful number 11 Test batsman in terms of runs. In the first innings of the ICC Super Series Test match in 2005, McGrath passed Courtney Walsh to become the greatest wicket taker among fast bowlers in Test history.

Whilst fiery, confrontational, and on one or two rare occasions on the field ill-disciplined (i.e in his 2003 encounter with Ramnaresh Sarwan in the West Indies), off the field he is generally reputed to be quiet and friendly, and rather a prankster in the cricketers dressing room (a trait publicly attested by many teammates). He is married with two children; his wife, Jane, is a former flight attendant. Jane has successfully fought a battle with breast cancer and a second one with a bone cancer, but was diagnosed with a relapse of cancer in February 2006 and will undergo further treatment to fight the disease. McGrath has used his profile to raise money for breast cancer charities. His most well-known hobby is hunting wild pigs, a pest animal in some parts of Australia. Clearly, McGrath despite the trappings of cricketing fame is still a 'country' boy at heart, harking back to his early days at Narromine where ironically he couldn't even get a bowl for his local team.

Bowling

McGrath has had success against every opposition team, in both Test and one-day cricket. He deliberately (and publicly) targets the opposition's best batsmen; at the beginning of a series against the West Indies he stated in interviews that he aimed, for his 300th wicket, to dismiss star batsman Brian Lara. He did so; what even McGrath could not have predicted was that it was in the middle of a hat trick. The targeting of opposition batsmen has worked; he has dismissed Mike Atherton of England 19 times - the most times any batsman has been dismissed by one bowler in cricket history - as well as having hoodoos over Brian Lara and to a lesser extent Sachin Tendulkar. He also tends to engage in sledging of opposition batsmen and teams, though it doesn't always pay off. Before the 2005 Ashes series he predicted a 5-0 whitewash for Australia, but was left with proverbial egg on his face when England prevailed 2-1.

Fielding

McGrath is a competent outfielder with an excellent throwing arm; not known for his athleticism, on one memorable occasion in 2002 he took a truly exceptional outfield catch at the Adelaide Oval against England, dismissing English batsman Michael Vaughan off the bowling of Shane Warne, running many metres before leaping into the air and catching the ball with arms outstretched and his body horizontal. His captain, Steve Waugh, described the famous catch as "a miracle" and "one of the great catches in history".

Batting

McGrath's batting prowess, in the early phases of his career was non-existent, in fact, he scored first-ball ducks {zero runs} on both his Test and One-Day International debuts. Years of patient tutelage from captain and friend Steve Waugh have improved this aspect of his game, to the point where he has scored a Test half century, which came on 20 November 2004 against New Zealand at the Gabba. His final score in that innings was 61. Early in McGrath's career, Shane Warne made a bet with Mark Waugh that McGrath would at some stage in his career accomplish a Test fifty. So far, neither cricketer has revealed whether any money has changed hands yet. Nevertheless, McGrath is regarded as a genuine batting 'bunny', however, to his credit coaching from Steve Waugh and others has pushed his average up to above 7.00 runs/innings. In the first World Cricket Tsunami Appeal match, he was promoted to bat at number 6 ahead of Stephen Fleming and Matthew Hayden, but was dismissed first ball trying to slog Muttiah Muralitharan. Of late, McGrath has proven very difficult for opposing bowlers to dismiss, being dismissed only once during the 2005 Ashes series. In that series he lived up to his reputation as a joker by commenting to his team-mates, "So, what's it like to get out?", having only been dismissed in the fifth and final test. With a contribution of 11 runs in the first innings of the MCG 2005 Boxing Day Test versus South Africa, he stood his ground for 53 deliveries, helping Michael Hussey push the Australian tail to a record tenth wicket stand against South Africa of 107 runs. Ever mischievous, his autobiography contains an entire chapter on his batting, and has also publicly said he has been pushing skipper Ricky Ponting to move him up the order.

Playing for English teams

McGrath played for Worcestershire in the 2000 English County Championship, proving both successful on the field and popular with the county's supporters. In 14 first-class games he took 80 wickets at 13.21, including an outstanding innings return of 8-41 against Northamptonshire, as well as making his first ever first-class half-century (55 against Nottinghamshire. He also played a few games for Middlesex in 2004, but although accurate could manage only nine wickets in four first-class appearances for the county.

Against England

During the 1st Test at Lords in the 2005 Ashes series Glenn McGrath became the fourth bowler in history to take 500 Test wickets with the dismissal of Marcus Trescothick. This wicket was also the start of a devastating spell of 5-2 which lead to England being bowled out for 155. McGrath took 4-29 in the 2nd innings and was named man of the match in an emphatic Australian victory.

Disaster struck when McGrath trod on a cricket ball and injured his ankle the morning before the start of the 2nd Test at Edgbaston. He was unable to play in the match which England won by 2 runs. He was rushed back when not fully fit for the 3rd Test at Old Trafford. McGrath earned another 5-wicket haul in the 2nd innings of a thrilling drawn game. He then missed the 4th Test at Trent Bridge with an elbow injury, England won the test by 3 wickets. McGrath returned for the final Test at The Oval but it was too late. McGrath's injury problems are seen as a key factor in England regaining the Ashes. Shane Warne had an outstanding series but Australia struggled without McGrath in support. The two of them left the field at The Oval to a standing ovation having both probably played their last Test match in England and having tasted Ashes defeat for the first time. Having thwarted England so often in the past, this great duo had the grudging respect of English supporters.

Trivia

• In a One Day International against New Zealand cricket team on the 8 December 2004, Glenn wore a jersey sporting a misspelling of his name- "MCGARTH". The fault was an error of a clothing supplier.
• McGrath was immortalised in song by This Is Serious Mum on their 1998 album www.tism.wanker.com, in The Parable of Glenn McGrath's Haircut, which proposed that success is achieved, not by the cool kids, but the dorks - McGrath's hair style suggesting he was one of the latter.
• A popular war cry made by supporters when McGrath is playing is "Ooh! Ahh! Glenn McGrath!". (This form of war cry was originally directed towards IrishFootball player Paul McGrath during his time at Manchester United)
• Glenn McGrath's nickname is Pigeon. The nickname came from New South Wales teammate Brad McNamara who upon first laying eyes on his lilly white pins said, "You've stolen a pigeon's legs McGrath". Other nicknames he's answered to are Rhino, Ninger, Nuff Nuff and Millard.
• According to Steve Waugh, the ex Australian captain under whom Glenn played for most of his career, McGrath "borders on being obsessive compulsive. Knows every Test wicket he's ever taken, how the batsman was out and what number victim they were. Eats the same breakfast each morning on tour. He places his two fried eggs on separate pieces of white toast before making sure the yolk is perfectly positioned in the middle, before trimming the overhanging egg white edges with surgical precision. The contents are then cut into quarters after being doused with a three-second barrage of salt. It's a real shame to see him eat it such is the masterpiece he creates."
• His sense of humour on the field is well known. Examples include a pretend underarm delivery to New Zealand batsman Kyle Mills in the inaugural international Twenty20 game played between the two countries. This was intentionally reminiscent of the infamous incident during a New Zealand-Australia One Day International in 1981 involving such a delivery by Trevor Chappell (See Underarm delivery). In the 2005 Ashes series on the final day's play at The Oval, England batsman Ashley Giles stood up from his guard at the last second during McGrath's run-up; McGrath, despite pulling up halfway into his delivery, still managed to smash the stumps and issued a comedy mock celebration which in the circumstances required a sense of humour indeed. McGrath has also been, presumably jokingly, called a "nuisance" and a "pest" by Australian channel 9 TV commentator Tony Greig due to his reported habit of rolling cricket balls at the pitch while the 'pitch report' is going on. Also on the channel 9 lunchtime show "The Cricket Show" on the 27 December 2005 McGrath was described as "the biggest pest" in the Australian cricket by: Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Shane Watson and Michael Hussey.

• Holds 7 highest tenth wicket partnerships, and 2 100+ 10th wicket partnership

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External links

• Cricinfo Player Profile : Glenn Donald McGrath