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McGrath tribute thread
- Thread starter PhoenixFire
- Start date
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
Amazing bowler.
The most amazing aspect about him was his ability to run in, ball after ball after ball and just put in the same area with minimal variation and play on the batsman's mind, over after over until he finally squeezed him out.
A man who never reall swung the ball much in his early career and yet, picked it up enough to run through sides with the help of swing and reverse swing in the latter half of his career. Of course, he never really swung it much but he did develop enough skill to swing it a wee bit and with his accuracy and (the often under rated) pace and bounce, it was always more than enough.
Another part about him was the way he got into batsmen's mind. He always said something about targetting a certain player and it almost seemed as if it invariably made that batsman play either too cautiously or too aggressively against him and it almost always resulted in Pidge picking up his prey. It was one of the most amazing sights in cricket for me when he mentioned that he wanted Campbell as his 299th and Lara as his 300th and that he would love to do it with a hat trick in an interview before the day's play and then watch it actually happen. Obviously, such a thing can't happen without a bit of luck but the way he set it up by saying it (I think it did make Campbell and Lara a touch nervous that day) and then to actually back it up by bowling two very good deliveries (3, in fact) back to back was simply astounding.
As a person on the field, he was pretty much a jerk for most of the time, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he was an absolute genius with the ball. I honestly can't think of any batsman who could have handled McGrath on that track at that form except for Lara. I think he would have easily bettered his best figures that day, but for Lara.
And his bowling in India ni 2004 was one of the chief reasons for Gilchrist conquering the final frontier. Sanjay Manjrekar mentioned an interesting incident that happened during the Mumbai test in that series. He was interviewing McGrath before the start of play and apparently, McGrath told him that he felt the pitch was an "off cutter" pitch. This amazing ability to read a pitch so early and so correctly was another reason for his amazing success.
I guess towards the end of his career, he had mellowed down quite a bit and it definitely was a joy to watch him. I mean, watching him bowl was always fascinating and wonderful, but to watch him not being a jerk everytime a batsman took to him was wonderful to see. Cricket will always be indebted to this man, for not only was he a great bowler but also was a bit of a character and while that may have spoiled the spirit of the game at times, it also helped enhance interest levels in the game at other times and for that, we have to be thankful. NOt many can forget his 60 odd against New Zealand or him walking out at no.6 for the RoW XI in the Tsunami appeal match.
Farewell, Pidge... You will always be remembered as the model fast bowler for all youngsters, sledging and antics aside.
Quite easily the best I have seen, even a mm ahead of the peerless Curtly Ambrose.
The most amazing aspect about him was his ability to run in, ball after ball after ball and just put in the same area with minimal variation and play on the batsman's mind, over after over until he finally squeezed him out.
A man who never reall swung the ball much in his early career and yet, picked it up enough to run through sides with the help of swing and reverse swing in the latter half of his career. Of course, he never really swung it much but he did develop enough skill to swing it a wee bit and with his accuracy and (the often under rated) pace and bounce, it was always more than enough.
Another part about him was the way he got into batsmen's mind. He always said something about targetting a certain player and it almost seemed as if it invariably made that batsman play either too cautiously or too aggressively against him and it almost always resulted in Pidge picking up his prey. It was one of the most amazing sights in cricket for me when he mentioned that he wanted Campbell as his 299th and Lara as his 300th and that he would love to do it with a hat trick in an interview before the day's play and then watch it actually happen. Obviously, such a thing can't happen without a bit of luck but the way he set it up by saying it (I think it did make Campbell and Lara a touch nervous that day) and then to actually back it up by bowling two very good deliveries (3, in fact) back to back was simply astounding.
As a person on the field, he was pretty much a jerk for most of the time, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he was an absolute genius with the ball. I honestly can't think of any batsman who could have handled McGrath on that track at that form except for Lara. I think he would have easily bettered his best figures that day, but for Lara.
And his bowling in India ni 2004 was one of the chief reasons for Gilchrist conquering the final frontier. Sanjay Manjrekar mentioned an interesting incident that happened during the Mumbai test in that series. He was interviewing McGrath before the start of play and apparently, McGrath told him that he felt the pitch was an "off cutter" pitch. This amazing ability to read a pitch so early and so correctly was another reason for his amazing success.
I guess towards the end of his career, he had mellowed down quite a bit and it definitely was a joy to watch him. I mean, watching him bowl was always fascinating and wonderful, but to watch him not being a jerk everytime a batsman took to him was wonderful to see. Cricket will always be indebted to this man, for not only was he a great bowler but also was a bit of a character and while that may have spoiled the spirit of the game at times, it also helped enhance interest levels in the game at other times and for that, we have to be thankful. NOt many can forget his 60 odd against New Zealand or him walking out at no.6 for the RoW XI in the Tsunami appeal match.
Farewell, Pidge... You will always be remembered as the model fast bowler for all youngsters, sledging and antics aside.
Quite easily the best I have seen, even a mm ahead of the peerless Curtly Ambrose.
silentstriker
The Wheel is Forever
McGrath vs Mangoes coming up soon - the ultimate sign of devotion.
kiwiviktor81
International Debutant
When I realised that I was never going to be the next Wasim Akram, I modelled my bowling style on McGrath (I am 6'7"). That didn't make me a great cricketer, but it gave me insight into how subtlety can work batsmen over.
McGrath was always dangerous - his average against New Zealand is less than 20 in ODIs.
He was magnificent to watch bowl. He might not make that many highlight reels but if you have ever tried bowling with both pace and accuracy you would realise that what he could do with his consistency was phenomenal.
McGrath was always dangerous - his average against New Zealand is less than 20 in ODIs.
He was magnificent to watch bowl. He might not make that many highlight reels but if you have ever tried bowling with both pace and accuracy you would realise that what he could do with his consistency was phenomenal.