Glenn McGrath

Glenn Donald McGrath AM (pronounced /məˈɡrɑː/; born 9 February 1970 in Dubbo, New South Wales), nicknamed "Pigeon"^[1], is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history,^[2] and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century.^[3] He holds the world record for the highest number of Test wickets by a fast bowler and is fourth on the all-time list, with the top three wicket takers Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble all being spin bowlers.^[4] McGrath announced his retirement from Test cricket on 23 December 2006.^[5] His Test career came to an end after the 5th Ashes test in Sydney, whilst the 2007 World Cup marked the end of his one-day career.^[6] Known throughout his career for maintaining a remarkably accurate line and length, McGrath's consistency enabled him to be one of the most economical fast bowlers of his time. McGrath also played for the Indian Premier League team of Delhi DareDevils and was one of the tournaments most economical bowlers during its first season.^[7] On January 5, the franchise announced that it had bought out the remaining year of his contract.^[8]

Career

Early years

McGrath was born in Dubbo, New South Wales to Beverly and Kevin McGrath. [1] He grew up in Narromine, New South Wales (NSW) where he first played cricket and his potential was spotted by Doug Walters.^[9] He moved to Sydney to play grade cricket for Sutherland, and made his debut for NSW during the 1992–93 season. McGrath capped his rapid rise in the next Australian summer with selection in the Test team after only eight first-class matches.^[10] His Test debut was against New Zealand at Perth, in 1993–1994. In Australia's 1995 Test series victory, McGrath took the approach of bouncing the West Indies team including the bowlers, which had not happened before. Ponting said:

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," Ponting said. "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.^[11]

County cricket in England

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; although accurate, he could manage only nine wickets in four first-class appearances for the county.

Against England (Ashes 2005 and 2006/07)

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 very productive spell of 5-2 which led to England being bowled out for 155. McGrath took 4-29 in the 2nd innings and was named man of the match in a comprehensive Australian victory.

McGrath trod on a cricket ball and injured his ankle the morning before the start of the 2nd Test at Edgbaston and was unable to play in the match in which England amassed 407 runs in one day against the McGrath-less bowling attack to win by 2 runs. He was rushed back when not fully fit for the 3rd Test at Old Trafford, where he earned another 5-wicket haul in the 2nd innings of a drawn game, batting in a last-wicket partnership with Brett Lee in the last hour of the Test to deny an English victory. He then missed the 4th Test at Trent Bridge, which England won by 3 wickets, with an elbow injury. McGrath returned for the final Test at The Oval but he, and the rest of the Australian team, were unable to force a result and the match was drawn, giving England the series win. McGrath's injury problems are seen as a key factor in England regaining the Ashes, as their victories came in matches in which he was absent.^[12]

Australia hosted England in the 2006-07 Ashes series and quickly regained the Ashes, beating England 5-0, only the second 5-0 series whitewash in Ashes history (the first time was by the Australian team during the 1920-1921 Ashes Series). Having taken a break from cricket since April 2006, McGrath used the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy to reclaim his spot in Australia's test XI. He took a 6 wicket haul in his comeback innings in the first test at the Gabba to set the tone for the rest of the series, with Australia winning back the Ashes in a record breaking 15 days of play.^[13] McGrath took 21 wickets in the series at an average of 23.90, as well as scoring 10 runs and taking 1 catch in what was to be his final test series. In his biography McGrath wrote:

There was an incredible sense of emotion and elation as I walked around the Sydney Cricket Ground with my team-mates, holding hands with my children, James and Holly. I didn't feel the slightest sense of sadness about retiring. I knew I'd reached the end; my body told me that. And even more importantly, I'd realised that those special moments I was missing in the life and times of my family were too great ... the moments had become weeks at a time, and I didn't like it.^[14]

Retirement

On 23 December 2006, McGrath announced his retirement from tests. His last test was the Fifth Ashes Test against England in Sydney in January 2007,^[15] where he took a wicket with the last ball of his test career. He has also retired from all forms of international cricket following the successful 2007 Cricket World Cup where he became the leading wicket taker in the history of the World Cup, while also being the top wicket taker with 26 and being named player of the tournament.

2008 Indian Premier League

He was signed by the Delhi DareDevils for the Indian Premier League for a sum of USD 350,000 (INR 1.4 crore) to play in Twenty Overs games.^[16] His T-Shirt had the name "Pidge", short form for his nickname "Pigeon".

2009 Indian Premier League

In 2009, IPL went to South Africa, but McGrath increased the bench strength of Delhi Daredevils for whole of the tournament. In spite of being the most economic bowler for Delhi in the previous season, he did not play a single match.

Playing style

Bowling

McGrath's bowling was not of express pace. Rather, he relied on unerring accuracy and subtle seam movement.^[17] His height (195 cm), combined with a high arm action, allowed him to extract extra bounce from most pitches that often surprised batsmen. In the later years of his career, he developed as a swing bowler.^[18]

His uncomplicated method and natural physical fitness were significant factors in the longevity of McGrath's career. In 2004, he became the first Australian fast bowler to play 100 Tests.^[19] 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.^[20]

McGrath was regarded as one of the best fast bowlers in the world and has had success against every opposition team, in both Test and one-day cricket. He deliberately (and publicly) targeted the opposition's best batsmen prior to a series in an attempt to distract them, a ploy which regularly worked. At the beginning of the Frank Worrell series against the West Indies he stated in interviews before the match, that he would dismiss Sherwin Campbell for his 299th wicket, then remove star batsman Brian Lara for his 300th wicket the very next ball. In a masterstroke this eventuated as planned, following this with the dismissal of captain Jimmy Adams to complete a memorable hat trick. The targeting of opposition batsmen has generally been successful; he has dismissed Mike Atherton of England 19 times - the most times any batsman has been dismissed by one bowler in cricket history. On the other hand, he targeted Michael Vaughan prior to the 2002/03 Ashes series in Australia, with Vaughan going on to score three centuries at an average greater than 60. He targeted Andrew Strauss in the 2005 series in England, who went on to score two centuries.

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, and even said that if England won the Ashes he would return to Australia by boat, but England prevailed 2-1. However, this did not dissuade him from making a similar 5-0 prediction for the next Ashes series, in Australia in 2006/07 which turned out to be true. He finished his career as the most successful Test fast-bowler and 3rd highest Test wicket taker. However his Test wicket haul was surpassed by Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble during India's tour of England 2007.

Fielding

McGrath is a competent outfielder with a strong and accurate throwing arm; whilst not known for his athleticism, on one memorable occasion in 2002 he took an exceptional outfield catch at the Adelaide Oval against England, dismissing English batsman Michael Vaughan from the bowling of Shane Warne, running many metres before leaping into the air and catching the ball with arms outstretched and his body horizontal (see Google Video video [2]). 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 [3] and One-Day International [4] debuts, and his batting average hovered below 4 for the first few years of his career. 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 [5] at the Gabba. His final score in that innings was 61. Nevertheless, McGrath is still regarded as a batting 'bunny', although to his credit coaching from Steve Waugh and others has helped to push his average up to above 7.00 runs/dismissal. In the first World Cricket Tsunami Appeal charity match, he was promoted to bat at number 6 ahead of specialist batsmen Stephen Fleming and Matthew Hayden, but was dismissed first ball trying to slog Muttiah Muralitharan. Towards the end of his international career, McGrath, while not scoring many runs himself, became rather more difficult for opposing bowlers to dismiss, being dismissed only once during the 2005 Ashes series. With a contribution of 11 runs in the first innings of the MCG 2005 Boxing Day Test versus South Africa [6], 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.

Personal life

His late wife, Jane Louise (née Steele), was born in the United Kingdom and had worked as a flight attendant before their marriage. Glenn married Jane in 1999 after they met at a Hong Kong nightclub called Joe Bananas in 1995. They had two children, James and Holly. Jane McGrath fought recurrent battles with metastatic breast cancer. On 26 January 2008 (Australia Day) Glenn and Jane McGrath were both made Members of the Order of Australia. Jane McGrath died, aged 42, on 22 June 2008 from complications following cancer surgery.^[21] Glenn McGrath later became engaged to Sara Leonardi, an interior designer. They met during the 2009 Indian Premier League. They married at home in Cronulla on 18 November 2010.^[22] In April 2011 McGrath put his home on the market for 6 million dollars.^[23]

McGrath Foundation

In 2002 the McGraths founded the McGrath Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to raising money to fund more Breast Care Nurses in rural and regional Australia and educate young women to become 'breast aware'. Glenn has continued the work of Jane in her memory. The foundation has so far raised over $12 million^[21] and as at the start of 2011 currently funds 61 Breast Care Nurses.

Honours

He was named a Member of the Order of Australia on 26 January (Australia Day) in 2008 for "service to cricket as a player", and along with his wife for "service to the community through the establishment of the McGrath Foundation."^[24]

Sporting Achievements

McGrath holds 7 highest tenth wicket partnerships, and two tenth wicket partnerships of 100 plus [7].

At the time of his retirement he held the record for most runs scored as a number 11 batsman (603)[8]. This record has since been surpassed by Muttiah Muralitharan.

After his dismissal for a duck in the fourth test of the 2006-2007 Ashes series, McGrath claimed the record of having scored more ducks in test cricket than any other Australian cricketer (35 - one more than Shane Warne)[9].

McGrath holds the record for dismissing the most batsmen for ducks in test cricket (104) [10].

His win-loss record at World Cup tournaments is impressive; he's been in four tournaments (two less than the record) and has won three of those, getting to the final in the other they lost in 1996 to Sri Lanka his last in 2007 world cup Australia won to Sri Lanka.

See also

Notes

References

• McGrath, Glenn; Lane, Daniel (2008). Glenn McGrath: Line and Strength - The Complete Story. Random House. ISBN 978-1-74166-719-6. 

External links

• Glenn McGrath at the Internet Movie Database
• GLENN MCGRATH: LINE AND STRENGTH - THE COMPLETE STORY by Glenn McGrath
• Cricinfo Player Profile : Glenn Donald McGrath