“I let Australia down” – McGrath

Glenn McGrath has accepted the blame for his side’s defeat at the hands of England during their first final at the MCG late last week.

During the match McGrath went wicketless and dropped a simple catch in the outfield as Australia went down to England by four wickets.

“From time to time in this game – and in sport in general you have to accept responsibility and admit that you have let yourself and your team-mates down. And after Friday night, I’ll put my hand up to acknowledge that I probably cost us a win in the first limited overs final,” he wrote in his Sunday Telegraph column.

However, the legendary fast bowler remained positive about the loss, saying it would help Australia refocus on their objectives.

“Sometimes you need that, especially leading into a big series like the World Cup. We let ourselves down but hopefully we can learn from it,” he said.

“To have something like that makes us all refocus again and realise what’s important and get out there and do the job properly.”

McGrath also told the media that he had wanted to finish his career on a high note; winning the one-day tri-series and then the World Cup in March.

“I want to finish on a very special note,” he said.

“I only have to think back to the (fifth Ashes) Test match, that was the perfect way to finish my Test career. So hopefully the one-dayers can be very similar.”