Glenn McGrath Line and Strength by Daniel Lane

Author:Daniel Lane
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sports & Recreation/General
ISBN: 9781864714814
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia
Published: 2008-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

24

Dissecting the Pigeon

I know as a former fast bowler you have dream days where the ball hits the right spot and you feel as if you’ve found Nirvana. But you can come out the next day and bowl like a drunk and go for a hundred. Glenn bowled that in-between length that terrorised batsmen; the best in the world. I don’t think I can ever remember a bowler doing that ... you could count the number of deliveries he bowled down the leg side throughout his career on one hand.

Dave Gilbert, former Australian Test player

and CEO of Cricket NSW

‘He’s not a fast bowler. Glenn McGrath is not a fast bowler. Pigeon will get the shits with that, but he’s not a fast bowler. Not that he gives you balls to pull, but if you were facing McGrath I reckon if you elected a ball to pull, you could do it; you couldn’t do that against Brett Lee, you couldn’t do that against Jeff Thomson, Michael Holding or Andy Roberts...’

David Hookes’ forthright views and his willingness to express his thoughts, no matter how close they cut to the bone – be they about the form of the Australian team or how McGrath’s bowling should be defined – made him a top-line media commentator. He attacked issues without fear or favour, and his comments would invariably evoke public reaction. His antagonistic approach didn’t always win him friends, and it could be argued, sadly, that this very trait led to his tragic death in 2004. Hookes was killed after an altercation with a bouncer outside a hotel in St Kilda when a night out with the Victorian players he coached turned ugly.

Hookes was at his ‘media best’ in 2003 when asked for his thoughts on McGrath. However, after a few minutes of describing how the likes of Lee and Thomson were his idea of ‘fast’ bowlers and McGrath wasn’t, Hookes made sure it was understood he believed McGrath was a great player.

‘It’s probably unfair to say he’s not a fast bowler; he’s not an express bowler,’ said Hookes thoughtfully. ‘The quote Martin Crowe gave me one day was right: he’s a similar bowler to Sir Richard Hadlee. As good as Hadlee. He’s the same style of bowler – medium-fast, fast occasionally; on the spot, can seam it around a bit, a bit of movement ... just relentless. Martin Crowe is a cricketing aficionado and loves the Australian way of cricket. He’s a great friend and understands our style and our approach to life. For him to give McGrath that kind of praise, well, I think it should go on the cover of Pigeon’s book.

‘He’s basically a boring bowler, but we use him as an example to our kids in Victoria and say if you land it on the upside-down saucer 85 times out of a hundred, you’ll get 400 Test wickets. It’s pretty simple. He’s not a fast bowler – he’s not bouncing blokes out, he’s not slinging them out – he’s just getting blokes out.

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