Tribute to McGrath

A shy young boy from an outback town becomes one of those truly great fast bowlers? Shy, great fast bowler and sledging a batsman? Am I in need of some psychiatric treatment? Fortunately no, as this is a true story of a boy from the bush, who went on to to become a world class fast bowler.

The name of this bush boy is? Should I leave the cat out of the bag so soon? Ok, You don’t need to wait any longer, as he is Glenn Donald McGrath. Yes, the same McGrath, who took 563 test wickets and belonged to the true mob of Australian quicks that snarled and sledged the batsmen. From a shy boy, who left his school, as he couldn’t speak, to a mean fast bowler that we all know about? This fast bowling tribe can be a weird lot.

Here was a cricketer, who many thought couldn’t bowl during his younger days. Here was also a cricketer, who at the tender age of just 16, was in charge of a struggling farm. In spite of his dogged determination, he flopped as a cricketer while playing for a local side in New South Wales called Backwater. What makes this story even more fascinating is, as he had to manage his farm, he could hone his bowling skills only in the night. The kind of struggle McGrath went through just shows that people underrate the importance of relentless practice and dogged determination. As they say, practice makes a man perfect.

It has to be said that some coach must have still rated this bowler, who just couldn’t do well for a local side, as he was picked to play for the NSW country cup. Soon, former Australian Test cricketer Walters spotted his talent and the rest was history. The miracle happened, as he ripped through Tasmania’s batting line-up in a Sheffield Shield match in ’93. The boy who couldn’t bowl was soon playing in a Test against New Zealand at WACA by the end of that year. It was kind of a meteoric rise for this 22 year old boy from the bush. A true rags to riches story.

Interestingly, the man who said McGrath can’t bowl, and his club cricket captain, Shane Horsborough still thinks that the bowler with 563 wickets can’t bowl. All those batsmen who got out to McGrath need to camp outside Horsborough’s house and listen to what this great guru says. He knows something about McGrath’s bowling that all those Test class batsmen didn’t!

Yes, just like most other cricketers, he had his fair share of ups and downs very early in his Test career. It didn’t take him long though, to climb to the top of the tree made up of Australian fast bowlers. The first time I saw a bit of him was in the Australia-Asia cup played in Sharjah in ’94. Back then, only Prime Sports (re-branded as Star Sports) used to show a few games, when India were playing away from home. As a result, we, the cricket fans, used to crave for live telecast of cricket games. Ahh, those good old days!

I don’t want to pretend that I can remember how Glenn McGrath bowled in that tournament in Sharjah. My memory of that tournament is somewhat restricted to Vinod Kambli butchering Shane Warne for 22 runs in an over in the semifinal.

I, though, do remember a young McGrath bowling to Pakistan’s famed batting line-up in the Singer World series in ’94. As it was during my school days, I could only catch a glimpse of that match, but it was enough for me to see McGrath in action. The tall McGrath’s metronomic line and length and a bit of bounce proved to be too much for Pakistan’s batsmen. It was McGrath’s ability to bowl with great control and get enough bounce that caught my eye. It just made me think; there is something about this young bowler.

The next tour for McGrath was a litmus test, as the men from Down Under were touring Pakistan in ’94. The tracks in Pakistan can turn out to be a fast bowler’s graveyard. The only blueprint for success in Pakistan is to bowl fast and reverse swing the old ball. McGrath was never an out and out fast bowler, and neither was he that good at reversing the old ball. So, it was always going to be a herculean task for McGrath to conquer the land of Khyber Pass.

McGrath didn’t do anything spectacular in that series, yet took 7 wickets in two Tests at an average of 35. For a rookie playing for the 1st time in Pakistan, it was more than acceptable. To make matters worse for him, he was troubled by a hamstring injury in that famous Test at Karachi (thrilling one wicket win for Pakistan). In some ways, an infamous Test too (Malik allegedly made that infamous offer to Warne and Mark Waugh to under-perform during that Test).

Actually, it was Damien Fleming, who stole the thunder in that series by swinging it like a boomerang and taking a hat-trick. A few journalists who covered that series, though, were of the view that both McGrath and the Western Australian towering giant, Jo Angel bowled well without any luck. A few catches were dropped and yes, plumb in front lbws were reportedly turned down, from both Angel and McGrath.

After a season of mixed fortunes for McGrath, during the Ashes series Down Under in 94/95, the Ozzies embarked on a tough tour to the Caribbean Islands in ’95. It was the time when McGrath grabbed the opportunity of leading the attack with both hands, in the absence of injured bowlers – Billy the Kid (McDermott) and Fleming. McGrath took 17 wickets at a shade under 22, and invariably troubled the Prince from Trinidad, Brian Lara, in that series.

It was an interesting time in the history of Australian cricket. Both McDermott and the man who looked like a bull from a China shop yet took wickets, Merv Hughes, were coming to the end of their fine careers. So, there were concerns regarding who will fill the void left by those two mighty fine bowlers.

It wasn’t like the Aussies didn’t have promising fast bowlers coming through the ranks. Julian and Angel had already played a few Tests. Bichel and Kasprowicz were rated highly. Rowell and Shane George had represented Australia A. Wayne Holdsworth had gone on an Ashes tour to England in ’93. If my memory serves me right, even the under 19 team that visited the shores of India, under the captaincy of Rob Baker in ’94, consisted of bowlers like Lee, Gillespie and Nicholson. If you leave out the likes of Rowell, George and Holdsworth, rest of them went on to play for Australia. It was the metronomic McGrath though, who took over the mantle of leading the Australian attack for the next decade or so.

What made McGrath so special? He didn’t run all the way from the boundary line at the speed of a Transrapid 09 express train and make mess of the stumps. He neither seemed to send those cannonballs and smash a batsman’s head. McGrath’s bowling was about hitting the top of off-stump, with bounce from a good length. A little bit of movement either way helped him. Above all, he was mentally very tough. Watching him bowl might not have been a connoisseur’s delight, but he was very effective indeed.

To know more about McGrath’s career and the way he bowled; let us look at some of the great spells he bowled in his career.

McGrath’s 6 for 47 against West Indies at Port of Spain, Trinidad in 1995.

As I said, this was the series in which McGrath came of age as a fast bowler. He had already taken a 5 wicket haul at Barbados in that series, but it was his 6 for 47 at Trinidad that made the cricketing world sit up and take notice of him. On a treacherous track, the king of mass destruction, Ambrose, woke up to create havoc in the 1st innings. In his indomitable style, Pigeon responded with a fiery spell to match the veteran Ambrose.

As a weary eyed fan, watching that game late in the night, thanks to the time difference between West Indies and India, it was a sight to behold, when McGrath decided to bounce Ambrose and company. Those days, no one ever dared to bowl bouncers at those giants from the Caribbean, but McGrath did. It was the quickest spell that I have seen McGrath bowl in a Test match.

Punter on that spell in McGrath’s autobiography,

“I remember thinking Glenn’s decision to take on the West Indies bowlers sent out a positive message to the West Indies that the Australian side was really up for it. Ambrose, Walsh, Kenny Benjamin had never been treated like that before. It made the West Indies sit back and think, ‘This Australian team is fair dinkum — they’re really up for it.’ Even if you aren’t the murder boys of cricket, you can show little things to let the opposition know you are serious. It might be the way you warm up, how you dress to go to the ground. Perception can be enormous. If you can give off the right signals to (a) bluffing them or (b) showing them what you’re all about. McGrath, at that stage of his career, showed them what he was all about. His body language and the way he looked at their batsman — the wry smile — it sent a signal to the batsman and his own team-mates that he knew what he was doing. “

In that innings, he also troubled the likes of Lara, Richardson, Hooper and Adams. The result of that fiery spell was, Ambrose bowled another blistering spell and ended the hopes of a famous Australian win. McGrath, though, showed his mettle as a fast bowler in that Test.

8 for 38 and 5 for 53 both at Lord’s in 1997 and 2005 respectively.

Both great spells and both times, he used the slope at Lord’s beautifully. From the pavilion end, he would pitch it up and use the slope to bring it back, mainly into a batsman. Yes, in ’97 he got his bunny, Atherton’s wicket for fun too.

He was so good both times that he cleaned up England’s top-order sooner than the time taken by Boon to drink all those 53 cans of beer while travelling on a flight from Australia to Great Britain. Geez! that crazy man must have drank those 53 cans quickly, as England’s batsmen fell like a pack of cards in both ’97 and ’05.

5 for 66 at Karachi in Pakistan in 1998.

As I have already noted, wickets in Pakistan can be a graveyard for quicks, especially for those who don’t reverse it at decent pace. McGrath was never one of those who swung the old ball much, yet he took a 5 for in a land where even the legendary Lillee struggled to take wickets.

The plan again was simple, as he assessed the conditions quickly and pitched it a little bit further up to make the batsman drive. He also used the bouncer well and yes, reversed the old ball just enough to take a 5 for.

McGrath on that spell at Karachi,

“I just tried to give in all. I bowled at a good line and length with a few bouncers trying to get them up on a track which is not very bouncy. It (strategy) turned out quite well.”

“The Pakistani wickets are as hard as the Indian strips. They are pretty hard on the balls specially the Kookaburra (balls) which we are using here. After 30 or 40 overs, the ball helps you get some reverse swing. We looked after the ball as well so that it can swing when it gets older.”

McGrath v Dravid at Bangalore in 2004.

In this innings, McGrath did take 4 for 55, but it was the way he bowled to Dravid that captivated my imagination. Both Dravid and McGrath were kings of attrition, but leaving that famous Test at Kolkata in 2001, it was McGrath who invariably came on top.

The defeat in 2001 seemed to have made the men from Down Under wiser, as they came well prepared in 2004. The plan in 04 was to attack the stumps more and, with the old ball, play the patience game. The problem with any plan you draw up is, you still need bowlers to execute it. In that innings, McGrath did execute those plans to perfection.

The Great Wall of India defended as though his life was dependent on that innings, but the Zen Master was too good for him. He zeroed in on the stumps, and got one to nip back into him that made a mess of Dravid’s off-stump. Back in the shed, for a few minutes, Dravid would have felt like he had a bout of amnesia. I said it as even a champion batsman like him didn’t have a clue about what to leave and what to play that day.

The game between India and Australia at Edgbaston in ’99

It was just a One-day match. I will still include it in my list, for McGrath bowling pretty much a perfect delivery to Tendulkar. It was also a World Cup game, so there would be that extra added pressure on players to perform.

During the late 90?s, Tendulkar was batting like a genius. As a cricket aficionado, it felt like you needed to bowl a perfect delivery to get him out. This is what the perfectionist, McGrath did at Edgbaston. McGrath bowled back of a length, but the flick of the wrists he imparted meant, he got it to bounce awkwardly on Tendulkar on and around the off-stump. Tendulkar had no other option but to edge that one. To plan it, and more importantly, to execute that kind of delivery, shows the greatness of McGrath.

I have a feeling, during his playing days, if someone had woken up Glenn McGrath at 5 AM in the morning, and asked him to bowl good length on and around off-stump, he would have done that. If a cricket captain dreams of a perfect seam bowler, he may see McGrath in it.

McGrath was also a phenomenon for the kind of predictions he would make before every series. The 5-0 Ashes prediction in ’05 came-back to haunt him, but more often than not, he got it right. Who can forget him repeatedly saying in the 90?s that he would get Atherton out? In the ’99 World Cup, McGrath said he will take care off Lara’s threat and he did. In 2000/01 against West Indies, he correctly predicted the batsmen that he would dismiss to get to his 300th Test wicket. I believe, instead of touring South America, those politicians from drought hit areas of Karnataka could have gone Down Under – to know about their future from McGrath!

The importance of McGrath during Australia’s golden run could be seen when he got injured in the Ashes ’05 and they lost. Warne, with his bagful of tricks, toiled manfully to single-handedly keep them in the game, but he definitely missed his partner in crime. McGrath, though, ended his career on a high note by helping Australia to extract revenge for that Ashes loss with a thumping win against an ill prepared English side, 5-0 in 06/07. His final international match was in the WC final in ’07 in WI and yes, Australia won that World cup by defeating Sri Lanka. A fitting send-off to a great fast bowler.

The great Wasim Akram from Pakistan, with his skulduggery, could do a trillion devious things with a cricket ball in hand. If you want someone to bowl for your life though, it has to be Glenn Donald McGrath. He could bowl all day with amazing control, and made you feel like he had the strength and the stamina of a Trojan. No wonder, he rarely got injured.

I hope I was able to bring out some fascinating aspects about this all time great fast bowler. Please don’t ask me to write about his batting now!