Glenn McGrath
Unrelenting
accuracy
Born 09.02.1970
BOWLING (World
Cups 1996 -2007)
Balls.....1955
Maidens.....42
Runs.....1292
Wickets.....71
Average.....18.19
Best.....7/15
Runs Per Over.....3.96
Catches…..5
If you were looking for precision and
reliability, rather than raw speed and flamboyance, Glenn McGrath was the man.
Perhaps the modern-day Brian Statham, McGrath was trusted paceman for a
succession of Australian captains from Allan Border to Ricky Ponting. He bowled
wicket-to-wicket, not just from close to the stumps but from almost in front of
them. Keeping a steady line on or around the off-stump, bringing the ball in or
moving it away just enough - and late - he kept the batsman guessing all the
time. He could bowl a sizzling bouncer too, as readily as he could give a
mouthful to the batsman. McGrath was a mean character with the ball.
Wickets in the sub-continent in 1996 were obviously
not to his liking. He struggled generally, but rose to the occasion when it
really mattered. The Zimbabweans found him difficult to get away. He dismissed
opener Grant Flower early and conceded just 12 runs off 8 overs. In the
high-scoring quarter-final, he had Stephen Fleming caught by Steve Waugh, as
the New Zealand top-order struggled. Then after skipper Lee Germon and Chris
Harris had put on a splendid 168 for the fourth wicket, McGrath returned to
dismiss the former.
It was in the semi-final under lights at Mohali
that McGrath made vital breakthroughs when the West Indies seemed to be running
away with the match. With Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and captain Richie Richardson
in charge, the West Indies were 165 for two, needing just 208 to win. McGrath
got a cramping Chanderpaul to hole out to Damien Fleming. Soon thereafter he
trapped Roger Harper leg-before. The West Indies were pushed on the back foot,
setting the stage for Shane Warne to strike his winning blows. McGrath finished
with two for 30 off 10 overs.
He was unable to similarly lift his team in the
final as Sri Lanka registered a glorious win. McGrath was not really in his
elements in the 1996 World Cup.
Conditions were just right for McGrath’s bowling
in 1999 and he revelled in them, though not initially. He was unusually
innocuous in the round-robin matches, only causing an early flutter in the
Bangladesh camp. That was until the last league game in which it was vital to
defeat the West Indies.
McGrath struck like a whirlwind, crippling the
top-order and ensuring that the innings did not take wing. On a seaming track
he had Sherwin Campbell edging, to be taken brilliantly by Mark Waugh at second
slip. Next ball he trapped Jimmy Adams leg-before, not offering a stroke. It
was 7 for two. Brian Lara tried to battle it out but McGrath hit his off stump.
The West Indies never recovered from these blows. He returned later to knock
off the tail in tandem with Shane Warne. McGrath captured five for 14 off 8.4
overs and took away the man-of-the-match prize.
In order to wrest the title, Australia still had
to win virtually every match. McGrath halted India’s super-six chase right at
the start. He drew Sachin Tendulkar forward and induced an edge into
Gilchrist’s gloves. The maestro returned for a duck in the first over. McGrath
exclaimed later: “I have always enjoyed bowling to Sachin and getting his
wicket is always special.” McGrath duplicated the effort with India’s most
successful batsman of the tournament, Rahul Dravid. Damien Fleming dismissed
Sourav Ganguly. Soon after, McGrath had skipper Mohammad Azharuddin playing
with the leading edge into the hands of Steve Waugh. McGrath had taken three of
the four wickets to fall for 17. The target of 283 became a distant mirage for
India. McGrath secured his second man-of-the-match award in succession, having
bagged three for 34 off 10 overs.
With eight wickets in two crucial successive
wins, McGrath had put the Australian campaign back on track. He had a quiet
time in the other two super-six matches and the nail-biting semi-final, taking
a wicket apiece in each of these games.
In the one-sided final, he removed Wajahatullah
Wasti early, and then came back to dismiss Saqlain Mushtaq, rounding off the
Pakistan innings. McGrath finished with two for 13 off 9 overs. His bag of 18
wickets in the tournament was second behind Shane Warne and Geoff Allott, both
of whom took 20.
McGrath relished the South African tracks in
2003. Economical rather than penetrative in the early matches, he tore through
the amateur line-up from Namibia. The newest African entrants to the
international stage found, to their acute discomfiture, how difficult it is at
the highest level. After Australia had rattled up more than 300, McGrath
reduced the Namibian batting to shambles. He had Andries Jan-Berry Burger
caught by Ricky Ponting in the first over. After Brett Lee accounted for the
other opener Stephen Swanepoel in the same manner, McGrath took six wickets in
a flurry. He had Morne Karg, Daniel Keulder, Louis Burger and skipper Deon
Kotze snapped up behind the stumps by Adam Gilchrist, trapped Bryan Murgatroyd
leg-before and castled Bjorn Kotze.
McGrath finished with an analysis of 7-4-15-7,
the best-ever in the World Cup, and second after Chaminda Vaas’ eight for 19 in
all One-day Internationals. Gilchrist took two more catches off Andy Bichel,
his six dismissals being a record in the premier event, also equalling the best
in One-day history. Namibia crashed to 45 all out in 14 overs, and McGrath was
man-of-the-match.
Kiwi speedster Shane Bond shook up the
kangaroos. McGrath, on his part, began the New Zealand slide, having makeshift
opener Daniel Vettori caught by Gilchrist. He dismissed Nathan Astle for a
duck, taken by Ponting, and had Scott Styris leg-before. The compliment repaid,
McGrath had pushed the Antipodean rivals on the back foot at 33 for three. Lee
returned to decimate the lower half in a matter of 25 deliveries. McGrath
finished with three for 29 off 6 overs.
The final had been won even before India batted,
courtesy Ponting’s blitzkrieg. Sachin Tendulkar tried desperate methods in a
lost cause, slamming McGrath for a boundary and then giving a steepling return
catch in the very first over. McGrath sent back Mohammad Kaif for a blob, and
later wound up the match, dismissing Zaheer Khan. He took 21 wickets in this
tournament, second-highest for Australia behind Lee’s 22 in a single World Cup.
Only Chaminda Vaas, with 23 scalps, bagged more.
The innocents from Scotland could hardly
decipher his nagging deliveries in 2007. McGrath came on first change and took
wickets in quick succession. The Scots slumped to 42 for five and were finally
dismissed for 131 runs. McGrath took three for 14 in 6 overs as Australia
sailed to a 203-run win. The Dutch part-timers too were unable to fathom the
Australian bowling. McGrath bagged two wickets in the middle, giving away 33
runs off 8 overs. South Africa did make a valiant effort to chase a huge
target, and McGrath managed to pick up a solitary wicket, conceding 62 runs in
9 overs.
Hosts West Indies were chasing a score well in
excess of 300 in the super-eight. McGrath dropped his second delivery short and
Chris Gayle top-edged the pull shot into the hands of Shane Watson at mid-on.
In his next over Marlon Samuels tried to give him the charge and only succeeded
in holing out to Andrew Symonds in the covers. The scoreboard read 20 for three
in the 10th over. McGrath returned later to the bowling crease and Dwayne Bravo
too tried something fancy over cover, hitting the ball straight into the hands
of Ponting. This time McGrath took three for 31 off 8 overs.
McGrath took the new ball against surprise
qualifiers Bangladesh. He effected dismissals off three consecutive overs. He
yorked opener Shahriar Nafees in his second over to equal Wasim Akram’s record
haul of 55 wickets in the World Cup. In his next over Aftab Ahmed attempted to
drive him over mid-off only to see Nathan Bracken take a well-judged catch. McGrath
now became the highest wicket-taker in the premier event. Mohammad Ashraful
tried to attack but skied the ball to Ponting. Bangladesh were now 37 for four,
and were able to score just 104 for six in the 22-over innings. McGrath’s
analysis was three for 16 off 5 overs, good enough for him to secure the
man-of-the-match prize.
Up against England he was back at first change.
He broke the 140-run third-wicket stand as Ian Bell, who had clattered McGrath
for a few boundaries, holed out to Michael Hussey in the covers. Wicketkeeper
Paul Nixon lofted him over long-on for a six, and then trying to repeat the
shot hit it straight into the hands of Brad Hodge in the same direction. Three
deliveries later, last-man James Anderson was completely flummoxed and plumb
leg-before-wicket. England were dismissed for 247 and McGrath returned with a
bag of three for 62 off 9.5 overs.
No-hopers Ireland found themselves in a pitiable
state as McGrath sent down the opening over. Off the last delivery he clipped
left-handed opener Jeremy Bray’s off-stump. While speedster Shaun Tait took two
wickets in the fourth over, McGrath had Eoin Morgan edging to Matthew Hayden in
the slips in the next. Later Andrew White was foxed by a slower one and Brad
Hogg took a brilliant catch behind the bowler. Ireland were 32 for five in the
11th over and collapsed to 91 all out in 30 overs. McGrath returned with three
for 17 in 7 overs. He was man-of-the-match for the second time in the
tournament.
Once again back to first change as they took on
Sri Lanka, McGrath struck a mortal blow, trapping Kumar Sangakkara leg-before
for a duck. He took a late wicket to finish with two for 48 off 9 overs. New
Zealand too found themselves in a hopeless situation. McGrath banged his first
delivery short, and Ross Taylor pulled it straight into the hands of Michael
Hussey at mid-wicket. Later Scott Styris tried desperate measures, but hit a
simple catch to Hayden at short mid-wicket. McGrath’s return was two for 25 off
4 overs.
In the semi-final McGrath again shared the new
ball with Bracken. He yorked Kallis early. In his fifth over, he angled one
wide of the left-handed Ashwell Prince who chased it only to tickle it to
Gilchrist and was gone for a duck. McGrath had now taken the highest number of
wickets in a single World Cup, beating Chaminda Vaas’ record of 23 in the
previous tournament. Mark Boucher edged the very next delivery to Hayden at
first slip to complete the celebrations. The Proteas were now 27 for five in
the 10th over, and finally capsized for a mere 149 runs. McGrath not only
bagged three for 18 off 8 overs but also his third man-of-the-match award of
this event.
As the Sri Lankan challenge petered out in the
final, McGrath picked up a wicket. He had not gone wicketless in any of the 11
matches. It was a tremendous tournament for him: 26 wickets at an average of
13.73 and an economy-rate of 4.41. He was steady throughout, taking vital
wickets without running through line-ups. There was no need to with the
balanced attack at the disposal of the Aussies. Shaun Tait, Brad Hogg and
Nathan Bracken were also prolific wicket-takers, with the spoils being shared.
What a colossus Glenn McGrath has been in the
World Cup too! He has the best analysis of seven for 15 against Namibia in
2003, the highest wickets with 26 scalps in a single tournament in 2007, and
the highest wickets ever, 71 at an average of 18.19 and an economy-rate of
3.96. He has the most appearances of 39 in the World Cup, along with Ponting,
and has represented Cup-winning teams a record three times along with Ponting
and Gilchrist. With five man-of-the-match awards McGrath is joint second along
with four others, behind the inimitable Tendulkar who has eight. It will be
hard to emulate McGrath.
Along with Warne, McGrath formed a lethal
combination that the opposition found impossible to annihilate. One of the
finest pacemen in the world, with accuracy and movement his hallmark, Glenn
McGrath posed a constant threat. Lean and lanky, his measured run-up and
delivery from right beside the stumps presented a sight quite distinct from
other fast bowlers. He was indeed a vital element in the unprecedented success
of Australian sides since the mid-1990s. Invariably, when his team needed a
special effort, McGrath struck to pave the way for yet more triumphs in that
long-running saga.
(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted
on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).
The
Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011
ISBN
978-81-901668-4-3
Distributed
in India by Variety Book Depot, Connaught Place, New Delhi, Phones + 91 11
23417175, 23412567.
Available
in leading bookshops, and online on several websites.
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