He is called by his Australian teammates as pigeon. A pigeon is a bird that is generally, soft and not violent like an eagle or a vulture. On the field he was anything but a pigeon. It just wasn’t possible to see him keeping quiet, constantly egging on the bowlers and getting himself involved in sledging the opponents, famously rechristened as Mental Disintegration by Steve Waugh. The effectiveness of McGrath was so great that without his contribution, neither Steve Waugh nor Ricky Ponting could have achieved the success that the Australians in general and both those captains in particular enjoyed. If Ricky Ponting’s captaincy record is stellar, McGrath was the prime reason. Sure, there was a glittery of batsmen and Shane Warne but in the games where McGrath didn’t play, Australians actually became mortals. Glenn McGrath a bowler par-excellence.
The first time I saw McGrath was if I remember correctly, in an ODI game at Sharjah. He was young, about 21 years old but with an accuracy that belied his age. He could direct the yorkers out of sheer will and at the feet of the batsmen. I remember thinking that this fellow would become a nightmare for the batsmen worldover. I must admit that I didn’t think how great a bowler he would go onto become. The heights that he achieved in his career showed how extraordinary a bowler he was.
McGrath wasn’t express pace in the mould of Holding or Marshall or Lillee. He maintained a constant pace from the late 130s to the early 140s. Perhaps, his thin frame did not allow him to bowl at high pace. Nevertheless, it never mattered because what he lacked in pace, he more than enough, compensated with the guile, movement, the ability to hit the same spot delivery after delivery.
The old enemy
McGrath reserved his best for the old enemy, England. The West Indian players of the Viv Richards era, always hated losing to England. England is the old team that they have blackwashed multiple times. Never lose against the old enemy was their motto. The colonial period hung in the air for a very longtime. Australia is no different afterall, it is a country made up of ex-British convicts. Every Aussie disliked losing to England. This inspired McGrath to bring about his best against England. More than 5 wickets per Test against England goes onto show how England brought the best out of him.
However, the most disappointing moment of his career also came against England. Back in 2005, after decimating England in the first Test with brilliant bowling, McGrath twisted his ankle while playing football just before the start of the 2nd Test. It forced him to miss the Test and England came storming back. It was the most inopportune moment for him to get injured. Yes, he did play in the 4th and 5th Tests but the injury seemed to have affected his rhythm that he was a pale shadow of himself. The one freak injury was enough for England to prevail all over Australia.
One must say that thanks to McGrath for injuring himself by playing football, we would not have witnessed a series such as The Ashes 2005 which is one for the ages. There were a lot of close games during the course of that one series than we could have witnessed in a year. If only McGrath had not been injured, the series would have been over before it began.
2009 NSW Australian of the year
Australianoftheyear.org.au has written this to commemorate McGrath for his outstanding achievement. On the website, they have written,
Glenn McGrath is one of Australia’s most loved cricketing legends. Since first wearing the baggy green cap in Perth in 1993, he has gone on to become the most prolific fast bowler in test cricket history, spearheading Australia’s bowling attack for over a decade.
Professionally he has always demonstrated an unerring will to succeed, but off the field it is the way he has handled personal struggles that has gained him admiration. Glenn’s wife, Jane, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997, cancer of the hip six years later and had a brain tumour removed in early 2006. Together they established the McGrath Foundation, with an aim to provide funding for breast care nurses on a national basis and provide greater public awareness of breast cancer, particularly amongst younger women.
The McGrath Foundation is now a major fundraiser for and supporter of people with breast cancer. In June this year Jane lost her 11-year battle with cancer, leaving Glenn to care for their two children. Throughout it all Glenn has shown enormous strength and dignity, setting an inspirational example.
His strength as a bowler
The ability to understand the opposition batsman. He targetted the main batsman among the opponents. If it is India, it was Sachin Tendulkar. If it was West Indies, it was Brian Lara. Against England, well no one in the English side could successfully negotiate McGrath for a long period and hence, he did not have any nemesis. Hence, he targetted their captain. He firmly believe that if the captain is dismissed cheaply, the whole team will crumble around him. It proved correct on more than one occasion.
As I have mentioned above, his ability to land ball after ball in the same spot and wait for the batsman to make that little mistake was another of his great asset. It takes lots of perseverance and skill to be able to do that over the course of a Test match. It requires supreme fitness which he had abundantly.
The Warne – McGrath camaraderie
These great bowlers shared a great rapport among themselves. There is a saying in Australia during the 1970s. If Lillee doesn’t get you, Thommo will. Much the same goes for these two gentlemen too. If McGrath does not get you, which he most certainly will, Warne will. I firmly believe that Warne would have ended up with another 100 wickets if not for the presence of McGrath. That they decided to end their careers in the same series speaks volumes about their friendship.
Wrapping up Glenn McGrath a bowler par-excellence
A great bowler by any standard, McGrath will always occupy a special place in the hearts of the Aussies.
Other blogs about Australia
https://icricketcritique.com/australian-cricketers-must-stop-their-lecture/
https://icricketcritique.com/cricket-boards-that-are-in-turmoil/
https://icricketcritique.com/is-it-correct-to-remove-paine-from-the-team/
https://icricketcritique.com/review-of-australia-after-adelaide/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-needless-and-stupid-cricket-rituals/
https://icricketcritique.com/winning-in-australia-is-so-bloody-tough/
https://icricketcritique.com/winning-in-australia-is-so-bloody-tough-2/