Glenn McGrath

Glenn Donald McGrath AO (/məˈɡrɑː/; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer whose career spanned 14 years.

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.

[8] McGrath later played for the Indian Premier League team of the Delhi DareDevils and was one of the competition's most economical bowlers during its first season.

[9] McGrath is the director of MRF Pace Foundation, Chennai, replacing Dennis Lillee, who served for 25 years.

[10] He currently serves as president of the McGrath Foundation, a breast cancer support and education charity he founded with his late first wife, Jane.

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.

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.

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.

[18] 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.

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.

Rather, he relied on unerring accuracy and subtle seam movement, which he derived from his high wrist action and lengthy follow-through.

[26][27] His height (195 cm), combined with a high arm action, allowed him to extract extra bounce, which often surprised batsmen.

[30] 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.

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 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.

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[35] at the Gabba.

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.

Glenn's first wife, Jane Louise (née Steele), was born in the United Kingdom and had worked as a flight attendant before their marriage.

[44] In 2015 McGrath received widespread criticism when it was revealed he had killed a variety of animals during a hunting safari in South Africa.

[45] McGrath 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.

"[46] Photographs of McGrath subsequently 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.

[64] McGrath was twice involved in tenth wicket partnerships which added 100 runs or more, a record matched only by New Zealand batsman Nathan Astle.

[67] McGrath held the record for dismissing the most batsmen for ducks in Test cricket (104),[68] until it was surpassed by James Anderson in 2021.

McGrath at a Test match at the SCG in 2007
McGrath in his final test series – the 2006–07 Ashes series
McGrath bowling a wicket-taking ball to Kevin Pietersen at the SCG in 2007
A graph showing McGrath's test career bowling statistics and how they have varied over time
Glenn McGrath's Test career batting performance
McGrath in 2011, wearing the pink of the McGrath Foundation