 |  It will be very special. It's something I'm really looking forward to |
When Glenn McGrath takes to the field against India in Nagpur on Tuesday, it will mark the great Australian fast bowler's 100th Test appearance. McGrath will be the eighth Australian and 30th player in history to reach the milestone.
But even more remarkable is the fact just four other pace bowlers have reached the mark - West Indian Courtney Walsh, Kapil Dev of India, Wasim Akram of Pakistan and England's Ian Botham.
It is exalted company, yet McGrath is not out of place.
From humble beginnings in the Australian bush, McGrath has risen to the apex of his profession.
Ray Lindwall, Graham McKenzie, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Craig McDermott - they all set standards for McGrath to live up to and all have been overshadowed by the pre-eminent Aussie quick of his generation. That is what the statistics say.
With 446 Test scalps and an average of 21.7 in this golden age of batting, McGrath's figures eclipse any Australian fast bowler, and most from any country at any point in history.
 McGrath is one of the most feared bowlers in the game |
McGrath's route to the top was as romantic as it was unorthodox. A farming lad from country New South Wales, McGrath was told at 16 by his captain at Narromine he had no future as a bowler.
"I see him every now and then and he still reckons I couldn't bowl back then," McGrath said.
Undeterred, he pursued his dream and moved to Sydney to give cricket his best shot.
"I went from playing Saturday afternoons when I was 19 to moving to Sydney and playing Test cricket in four-and-a-half years.
"If I sat down when I first moved to Sydney and wrote down where I wanted my life to go it would be not too different to where it is now."
McGrath would be a hard man to please were he not satisfied with his career.
Drafted into Australia's Test team in 1993 ostensibly as Merv Hughes' replacement, McGrath did not immediately look a future star.
But menace comes in many forms.
Fast bowlers usually rely on brute strength, long run-ups, snarled expressions and express pace to strike fear into batsmen.
 Never short of a word, McGrath's bowling does the talking these days |
The scary face aside, McGrath boasts none of these assets. Pigeon, as he is known, is that rare bird among pacemen - he thinks batsmen out.
Unable to bowl fast, McGrath identified his skills early on and as a result his game has changed little over the years.
"My body found what was natural and the best way to bowl," he said.
McGrath's weapon is nagging length and an excruciatingly accurate line outside off-stump.
It has done for some of Test cricket's best batsmen - Mike Atherton fell to him 19 times, while master West Indian Brian Lara has been ousted by the lanky seamer on 13 occasions.
McGrath was the perfect tool for Steve Waugh. Like his former skipper, McGrath is keen on the confrontational side of cricket.
From the infamous Eddo Brandes retort involving wives and biscuits to Graeme Smith comically accusing him of sledging from third-man on the South African's debut, McGrath has been involved in some of the game's great exchanges.
But McGrath is less animated these days. It could be the advancing years, but in 2003 he tellingly spoke of a regrettable spat with Ramnaresh Sarwan as a "learning experience".
If McGrath was judged solely on his batting, Bunny would be a more appropriate moniker than Pigeon.
Mark Waugh has a running bet with Shane Warne that McGrath will never make a Test fifty.
But it is his bowling that defines the man. A hat-trick against West Indies in 2000 and World Cup record figures of 7-15 against Namibia are just two of many highlights.
On the wrong side of 30 and on the road back from a serious ankle injury, McGrath is in the dusk of his career.
But there will not be a dry eye in the dressing room if McGrath bounces back in his 100th Test with a performance that leads Australia to a first series win in India for 35 years.
"I guess it is a lot of games under the belt," said the laconic bowler.
"When I walk out for the Test, it will be very special. It's something I'm really looking forward to."
"A five-wicket haul would be great, so would a 10-wicket match," McGrath said.
"Then maybe a 50 with the bat."
Don't push it, Pigeon.
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
