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By
Karthik Narayan
 If
King Midas had ever played cricket, I'm sure he would have
loved to be a bowler. Just be stingy with his overs and give
the least runs and get maximum wickets in his usual greedy
self. We do have a person that fits that bill, as u wonder the
name of Glenn McGrath just cant pass your mind.
Drafted into the Aussie team in 1993 as a tall lanky paceman,
this legend has become the mantle of the Aussie Pace Battery.
Totally coming good in his first series itself against the
Caribbeans, he cemented his place in a team, which has more
Hall of Fame Fast bowlers than any other team in this game.
The great Lillee, Thomson, McDermott, Merv Hughes, Bruce Reid
all awe inspiring names. McGrath has become the game’s
greatest new ball bowler of all time, for all the money in
this world.
Like just King Midas, McGrath is gifted with the Golden Touch
of getting wickets and the manner in which he
meticulously gets them is something really
amazing! The Wealth of a bowler is not the wickets, wickets
come and go. But the story that the batsman tells of a bowler
is his real wealth. He has most certainly captured the minds
of one and all. For me, he simply is the wealthiest bowler in
the history of the Sport.
Throughout most of his career, be it ODIs or tests, he has
never been any less stingier. Maybe the odd occasion when he
was hit. Like the World Cup 1999, in the league game against
Pakistan, Moin Khan, in a very unorthodox dispatched him for
plenty of runs in a dry spell.
There’s never really a dry spell for “the Pigeon”. He has this
uncanny knack of bowling balls in the “corridor of
uncertainty” with such precision over a spell. He is a bowling
machine. And all this has not come without so many hours of
practice in the nets and sheer determination to excel. When
one says new ball bowler, invariably the first name that comes
to mind is this guy!
In a game dubbed as the Batsman’s game, as
it has concept suited to the batsman more than bowlers such as
the Fielding Restrictions, this bowler has stood out. Whenever
one sees him bowl, it is so refreshing to watch, and he has
this ability to bowl so good that one rarely sees a boundary
off him! Maybe the odd single, but six on six just outside the
off stump is some phenomenon!
There are so many things about this wily paceman that I can
talk about, but I don’t have all day, and u don’t have all
day! So lets talk about two standout performances of McGrath.
Who would forget his miserly string of bowling spells in the
series against WI in the Home series! He bowled more overs
than the runs he gave away and wickets kept falling under his
name! And his economy rate was mind boggling, something
bowlers dream of. Astounding pieces of bowling, at 17 runs per
wicket, one could not help but wonder if this bowler would
ever give away runs at all… runs were so hard to score off
this precision machine like bowler that the West Indians just
gave up!
The one that stands out for all of us is the career best and
first 10 wicket haul for this fine bowler is the 10/27 in the
First test at the Gabba, Brisbane! That is the stingiest and
most wonderful string of bowling.
It is surprising to see that England happens to be his
favorite opposition! He has played 22 of the 97 in all against
England (that’s the Ashes Series), and he’s has got a quarter
of his test wickets (117). One standout performance for me was
the 1997 Ashes Series, the Second Test at Lord’s. He totally
demolished, demoralized, totally wiped out the entire England
team. In a spell of a score overs (20.3 to be exact) his
miserly run was evident (38 runs) and that devastating spell
had 8 of the English names in the scorecard all for this King!
In the second innings though, the English scrambled out a plan
and he could manage only 1 wicket, but then, he had stapled
the English and sealed them for good! Such is the class of the
greats!
No other bowler can be compared to McGrath. No other bowler
has single-handedly taken the opposition for a ride of their
lives. For me McGrath is the most respected and most sought
after bowler. He is the Meanest Bowling Machinery, a piece of
machinery that has not depreciated at any point of time.
It is very sad that he has had a few personal problems (his
wife is diagnosed with cancer!) and he himself has had some
ankle problems. But at 34, there is still light at the end of
the tunnel. He may be in the evening of his career, but its
definitely not time for Good Night! And with his renowned
stinginess and greed, he can only go further.
Cricketfundas.com salutes this Legend and prays he goes on to
bring unending joy into all our hearts!
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