Glenn McGrath not keen on Aussie bowling coach role
One of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, Glenn McGrath has indicated that he is not keen on taking up the role of Australian bowling coach, once Troy Cooley quits the job at the end of the fifth Ashes Test. Cooley has been asked by
Cricket Australia (CA) to take over as the head of the Excellence Centre, which is being put in place to help nurture young talent in the country.
McGrath will be available to give advice to the Australian team taking part in the final Ashes test that starts at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday. McGrath, who also runs a charity for breast cancer patients in the memory of his wife
Jane, will be in Sydney to help generate more funds for the organisation in the match branded as the 'Pink test'.
He will speak to Australian pacers Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus, who will be taking the field at the historic test venue. "I'll chat to the boys a fair bit during this Test match and see what I can do”, said McGrath
clarifying that he was not keen on working in an official capacity.
The last Ashes series in Australia was a different story altogether, as McGrath’s famous prophecy of predicting every Ashes series 5-0 in his team’s favour came true, when the hosts whitewashed the POMS. Four years on though things are
very different with the hosts having already relinquished the Ashes urn with the Sydney test to go.
The performance has not disappointed McGrath much, who believes that the Aussies will bounce back strongly soon. "To play the Ashes here and lose is pretty disappointing but you know what? It amazes me how, when Australia was so dominant,
everyone was saying it was bad for world cricket. All of a sudden, the boys have lost a few games and everyone is calling for their heads." He added, "I've got total faith the boys will bounce back and get back to the top of the tree."
According to the bowling great, who claimed a fast bowling record 563 wickets in 124 tests for his country, the Aussies have the talent and ability to hit back strongly; even as early as the Sydney test. The England team on the other hand
wants to give its all and win the last match to take the series 3-1. Yet a confident McGrath dispelled that notion stating that the Aussies were set to draw the series 2-2.
On the other hand, cricketing pundits in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 want McGrath to play a long- term role in the Australian cricket set-up, especially in the fast bowling department where he gave a stoic performance for nearly 15 years. The lanky pacer
was one of the toughest fast bowlers to get away in his time and had the knack of taking crucial wickets for his team. He was the star of many Test wins for Australia, and until the very end had not lost the knack of bowling in the perfect zone time and again.
His line and length made him almost impossible to get away, and the disciplined effort brought him a rich haul of wickets in both the one-day international (ODI) and Test match formats. He was part of many historic Ashes campaigns that
went in favour of the Aussies. Even the only series that the Aussies lost in his presence to the POMS saw some dramatic performances from McGrath.
He was the key performer in the first Test of the 2005 series, which the English won 2-1. The second Test was won by England after McGrath pulled out of the team on the eve of the match at Edgbaston due to an ankle injury, and many believe
that his withdrawal was a major factor in England's victory.
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