Glenn Donald McGrath (; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
er who played international cricket for 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace
bowler and is considered one of the greatest international bowlers of all time, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
from the mid-1990s to the late-2000s.
Known throughout his career for maintaining an accurate
line and length, McGrath displayed a consistency that enabled him to be one of the most economical and successful fast bowlers of his time. In terms of total career Test wickets taken by fast bowlers, McGrath
is the third-most successful of all time behind
James Anderson and
Stuart Broad. On the list of all Test bowlers, he is fifth, and no bowler has taken more wickets at a lower average. He has also taken the seventh-highest number of
one day international
A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
wickets (381) and holds the record for most wickets (71) in the
Cricket World Cup
The Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Men's Cricket World Cup) is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), ...
. McGrath announced his retirement from Test cricket on 23 December 2006, with his Test career coming to an end after the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney in January 2007, while the
2007 World Cup, which marked the end of his one-day career, saw him win the man-of-the-tournament award for his outstanding bowling, which was instrumental in Australia winning the tournament.
McGrath later played for the
Indian Premier League team of the
Delhi DareDevils
Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) are a franchise cricket team based out of Delhi in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is jointly owned by the GMR Group and the JSW Group. The team's home ground is Arun Jaitley Stadium, ...
and was one of the competition's most economical bowlers during its first season, but he saw no action in the second season, ultimately having his contract bought out.
McGrath is the director of MRF Pace Foundation,
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, replacing
Dennis Lillee
Dennis Keith Lillee, (born 18 July 1949) is Australian retired cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation". , who served for 25 years. He currently serves as president of the
McGrath Foundation
The McGrath Foundation is a breast cancer support and education charity in Australia, which raises money to place McGrath Breast Care Nurses in communities across Australia and increase breast health awareness. The charity was founded by Austr ...
, a breast cancer support and education charity he founded with his late first wife,
Jane
Jane may refer to:
* Jane (given name), a feminine given name
* Jane (surname), related to the given name
Film and television
* Jane (1915 film), ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd
* Jane (2016 film), ''Jane'' (20 ...
.
McGrath was honoured during the seventh annual Bradman Awards in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
on 1 November 2012. He was inducted into the ICC Hall of fame in January 2013.
Career
Early years
McGrath was born in
Dubbo
Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021.
The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Go ...
to Beverly and Kevin McGrath. He grew up in
Narromine, New South Wales (NSW), where he first played cricket, and his potential was spotted by
Doug Walters. 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.
McGrath's Test debut was against
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
at
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
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. In McGrath's biography,
Ricky Ponting is quoted as saying:
County cricket in England
McGrath played for
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
in the
2000 English
County Championship
The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It b ...
, proving both successful on the field and popular with the county's supporters. In 14 first-class games he too
80 wickets at 13.21 including an outstanding innings return of 8–41 against
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...
, as well as making his first-ever first-class half-century (55 against
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...
). He also played a few games for
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
; 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 first Test at Lord's in the
2005 Ashes series 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 productive spell of 5–2 that led to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
being bowled out for 155. McGrath took 4–29 in the second 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 second 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 two runs. He was rushed back when not fully fit for the third Test at Old Trafford, where he earned another five-wicket haul in the second 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 fourth Test at Trent Bridge, which England won by three 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.
Australia hosted England in the
2006-07 Ashes series and 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, and the later
2013–14 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 six-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. McGrath took 21 wickets in the series at an average of 23.90, and scored 10 runs and took a catch in what would be his final test series.
In his biography McGrath wrote:
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, where he took a wicket with the last ball of his Test career. He retired from all forms of international cricket following the successful
2007 Cricket World Cup, at which he became the leading wicket taker in the history of the World Cup, while also being the tournament's top wicket taker with 26 and being named player of the tournament. He was named in the 'Team of the Tournament' by ESPNCricinfo for the 2007 World Cup. His spell of 3–18 against South Africa was named as the fifth-best ODI bowling performance of the year by ESPNCricinfo voters.
Indian Premier League
McGrath was signed by the
Delhi DareDevils
Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) are a franchise cricket team based out of Delhi in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is jointly owned by the GMR Group and the JSW Group. The team's home ground is Arun Jaitley Stadium, ...
for the
2008 Indian Premier League, the first season of the
Indian Premier League. He played in 14 matches for the side and was the team's most economic bowler during the competition. He was resigned for the
2009 competition but did not play a match. After playing twice for Delhi in the
2009 Champions League Twenty20, in January 2010 the franchise announced that it had bought out the remaining year of McGrath's contract, effectively bringing his cricketing career to an end.
Playing style
Bowling
McGrath's bowling was not of express pace. Rather, he relied on unerring accuracy and subtle
seam movement, which he derived from his high wrist action and lengthy follow-through. His height (195 cm), combined with a high arm action, allowed him to extract extra bounce, which often surprised batsmen. In the later years of his career he developed as a
swing
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing ri ...
bowler.
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. 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.
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 that regularly worked. At the beginning of the Frank Worrell series against the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
he stated in interviews before the match that he would dismiss
Sherwin Campbell for his 299th wicket, then remove star batsman
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, (born 2 May 1969) is a Trinidadian former international cricketer, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds several cricketing rec ...
for his 300th wicket the very next ball. This happened as planned, and he followed this with the dismissal of captain Jimmy Adams to complete a memorable
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three w ...
. The targeting of opposition batsmen was generally successful; he dismissed
Mike Atherton
Michael Andrew Atherton (born 23 March 1968) is a broadcaster, journalist and a former England international first-class cricketer. A right-handed opening batsman for Lancashire and England, and occasional leg-break bowler, he achieved the ca ...
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 tended to engage in
sledging of opposition batsmen and teams, though it didn'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 third-highest Test wicket taker.
Fielding
McGrath was not known as a competent outfielder but he had a strong and accurate throwing arm; while not known for his athleticism, he took an exceptional outfield catch on one memorable occasion in 2002 at the
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby l ...
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 body horizontal. 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 poor; in fact, he scored first-ball
ducks
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...
(zero runs) on both his Test and One-Day International 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 improved this aspect of his game to the point where he scored a Test half-century, which came on 20 November 2004
against New Zealandbr>
Full Scorecard of Australia vs New Zealand 1st Test 2004 - Score Report , ESPNcricinfo.comat
the Gabba. His final score in that innings was 61, sharing a last wicket stand of 114 with
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie (born 19 April 1975) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer who played all three formats of the game. A right-arm fast bowler, he was also a competent lower-order batsman whose unbeaten 201 in his last Test matc ...
(54*) to hilarity and the acclaim of their team-mates.
[, Cricket Australia] Nevertheless, McGrath was, for the duration of his career, regarded as a batting '
bunny', although he pushed his average above 7.00 runs/dismissal by the end of his career. 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
Matthew Lawrence Hayden (born 29 October 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer. His career spanned fifteen years. Hayden was a powerful and aggressive left-handed opening batsman, who along with opening partners, Jus ...
, but was dismissed first ball trying to slog
Muttiah Muralitharan
Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan ( si, මුත්තයියා මුරලිදරන්, ta, முத்தையா முரளிதரன், also spelt Muralidaran; born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, former professional c ...
. 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 Afric
Full Scorecard of Australia vs South Africa 2nd Test 2005 - Score Report , ESPNcricinfo.com he stood his ground for 53 deliveries, helping
Michael Hussey
Michael Edward Killeen Hussey (born 27 May 1975) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator and former international cricketer, who played all forms of the game. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname 'Mr Cricket'. Hussey was a relative la ...
push the Australian tail to a record tenth-wicket stand against South Africa of 107 runs.
Career best performances
Personal life
Glenn's first wife,
Jane Louise (née Steele), was born in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
and had worked as a
flight attendant
A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...
before their marriage. Glenn and Jane met at a Hong Kong nightclub called "Joe Bananas" in 1995, and married in 2001. They had two children. Jane McGrath fought recurrent battles with metastatic
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...
, having been first diagnosed in 1997. On 26 January 2008 (
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...
) Glenn and Jane McGrath were both made Members of the
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...
. Jane McGrath died, aged 42, on 22 June 2008 from complications following cancer surgery.
Glenn McGrath met Sara Leonardi, an interior designer, during the
2009 Indian Premier League. They married at home in Cronulla on 18 November 2010.
In April 2011 McGrath put his home on the market for $6 million. Their daughter was born in 2015.
In 2015 McGrath received widespread criticism when it was revealed he had killed a variety of animals during a hunting safari in South Africa. Photographs of McGrath appeared on the website of Chipitani Safaris, a game park, showing him crouched beside what looked to be a dead buffalo, two hyenas and the tusks of an elephant. He subsequently expressed his regret. McGrath had earlier told ''
Australian Shooter'' magazine that "I’m keen to get into trophy hunting, no animal in particular, but a big safari in Africa would be great."
McGrath Foundation
In 2002 Glenn and Jane founded the McGrath Foundation, a breast cancer support and education charity in Australia, which raises money to fund McGrath Breast Care Nurses in communities right across Australia and increase breast cancer awareness in young women. Since 2007, the third day of the first Test held in
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and association f ...
is named Jane McGrath Day, even if the day is washed out. Following the death of Jane in June 2008, Glenn accepted the voluntary role of chairman of the Board of the McGrath Foundation, and he participates in many activities in support of the Foundation to ensure the fulfilment of its vision.
As of April 2016, the McGrath Foundation has placed 110 McGrath Breast Care Nurses around Australia, who have helped support more than 33,000 Australian families.
Honours
In 2001, McGrath was one of just twenty-one Australian athletes inducted into the
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of th ...
''Best of the Best'' list.
He was awarded the
Allan Border Medal and the Men's Test Player of the Year by
CA in 2000.
He was also awarded the Men's ODI Player of the Year in 2001.
McGrath was named a ''Member of the
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...
'' on 26 January (
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...
) 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." In 2008 McGrath was named the ''NSW Australian of the Year''.
[
McGrath was inducted into the ]Sport Australia Hall of Fame
The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser t ...
in 2011, and the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame recognises "the achievements of the legends of the game from cricket's long and illustrious history". It was launched by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Dubai on 2 January 2009, in association with the Fe ...
in January 2013. He was also inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame by the CA in 2013.
He was named as a bowler in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
's "greatest ever ODI
ODI may refer to:
* Object Design, Incorporated, a defunct database software company
* One Day International, cricket match
* Open Data Institute, a UK not-for-profit company promoting open data
* Open Data-Link Interface, an implementation of ...
team."
In a fan poll conducted by the CA in 2017, he was named in the country's best Ashes XI in the last 40 years.
A statue of McGrath by artist Brett "Mon" Garling was installed at McGrath's home town of Narromine in 2009.
Records
McGrath was twice involved in tenth wicket partnerships which added 100 runs or more, a record matched only by New Zealand batsman Nathan Astle
Nathan John Astle (born 15 September 1971) is a former New Zealand cricketer, who played all formats of the game. A right-handed batsman who played as an opener in One Day Internationals (ODI), while batting in the middle order in Test matche ...
.
At the time of his retirement, McGrath's 7 for 15 against Namibia were the best bowling figures in a World Cup match, and the second-best in all ODIs. He also held the record for the most wickets in an edition of the World Cup (26 in 2007) until this was broken by Mitchell Starc in 2019.
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).
McGrath held the record for dismissing the most batsmen for ducks in Test cricket (104), until it was surpassed by James Anderson in 2021.
Bibliography
* : the book includes a postscript by McGrath's late wife Jane
Jane may refer to:
* Jane (given name), a feminine given name
* Jane (surname), related to the given name
Film and television
* Jane (1915 film), ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd
* Jane (2016 film), ''Jane'' (20 ...
.
References
External links
*
*
GLENN MCGRATH: LINE AND STRENGTH – THE COMPLETE STORY
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Glenn
1970 births
Living people
Australia One Day International cricketers
Australia Test cricketers
Australian expatriate sportspeople in England
Australia Twenty20 International cricketers
New South Wales cricketers
Middlesex cricketers
Worcestershire cricketers
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
ICC World XI One Day International cricketers
Test cricket hat-trick takers
Cricketers at the 1996 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup
People from Dubbo
People from the Sutherland Shire
Cricketers from Sydney
Members of the Order of Australia
Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
Delhi Capitals cricketers
Australian cricketers
Allan Border Medal winners
Australian Institute of Sport cricketers
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees
Man of the Tournament in ODI Worldcup
Commonwealth Games medallists in cricket
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia
Cricketers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games