Glenn McGrath finished his Test career with 563 wickets, demonstrating an extraordinary ability to be highly consistent with his line and length throughout his career.
During their time on the field, former pace bowlers Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath were two of the most feared competitors on the field. During the early part of the 2000s, the tandem was unstoppable for the Australian bowling lineup. McGrath finished his Test career with 563 scalps, while Lee finished with 310 scalps. McGrath was known for his amazing ability to be highly consistent with his line and length throughout his career. Lee has fond recollections of McGrath and describes him as a laid-back man who was always pulling “a practical joke on someone.” Lee treasures the time he spent with McGrath.
“In contrast to his intense and combative demeanour on the field, McGrath in real life is a very laid-back character. He is a country kid at heart and the life of the party. McGrath was the kind of person who would always be pranking someone else with some sort of practical joke. During the Boxing Day Test that took place in 1999, I was seated in the middle of McGrath and Gilchrist. While I was listening as a little child with my eye line off the ground, McGrath was standing next to me pulling my shoelaces together. As a result, when I hopped up, I fell over. Gilly was eyeballing me and telling me to go out there and enjoy. Before it ever began, my career in testing was virtually at its end “Lee stated this in his channel on YouTube.
“McGrath was undoubtedly one of a kind from the very beginning. He has participated in a limited number of first-class matches prior to being selected for the Australian cricket squad. What a lot of people knew was going to happen, and he has that X-factor in him. He has a tall, slender build that’s around six feet six inches, and he’s about that height. McGrath was famous for being referred to as the human metronome “he noted.
After that, Lee referred to McGrath as his coach, praising him for assisting him in keeping line and length during his bowling periods.
“McGrath would always say good bouncer, good yorker, top of off, and that’s pretty much what he did his whole career, and he was so successful,” recalled Lee. “Excellent bouncer, good yorker, top of off.”
