Glen McGrath is the current No.1 bowler in the world. He bowls at a consistent 88 mph, and does clever stuff with bounce and swing (getting the ball to move around in the air), and has consistently destroyed England in
the Ashes this summer, calmly taking match winning figures without really
exerting himself. The
technical and
orthodox quality of his bowling, ball after ball after ball, just rips through our batting. It's really quite embarrasing, actually. I've got his autograph. He, too, like
Andy Caddick, and
Curtly Ambrose is very tall indeed. He's still quite young, and it looks as though we'll be hearing
plenty more of him.
Update 13/6/02 Here are McGrath's complete international cricket statistics:
Mat Runs HS BatAv 100 50 W BB BowlAv 5w Ct St
overall 84 411 39 6.52 0 0 389 8/38 21.91 23 25 0
v England 18 51 20* 4.25 0 0 98 8/38 20.04 7 6 0
v India 7 58 21* 11.60 0 0 37 5/48 16.08 2 2 0
v New Zealand 9 36 14 6.00 0 0 30 5/32 32.56 1 1 0
v Pakistan 11 35 7 3.18 0 0 48 5/61 27.58 2 7 0
v South Africa 14 66 18 6.00 0 0 49 6/86 25.16 2 4 0
v Sri Lanka 6 14 10* 14.00 0 0 27 5/40 24.14 1 1 0
v West Indies 18 138 39 8.62 0 0 94 6/17 17.96 8 3 0
v Zimbabwe 1 13 13 13.00 0 0 6 3/44 15.00 0 1 0
in Australia 41 149 24 4.25 0 0 183 6/17 23.00 8 14 0
in England 11 36 20* 12.00 0 0 68 8/38 18.27 6 3 0
in India 4 53 21* 17.66 0 0 19 4/18 18.26 0 1 0
in New Zealand 3 30 14 7.50 0 0 12 4/33 22.41 0 0 0
in Pakistan 5 17 6 4.25 0 0 19 5/66 31.00 1 2 0
in South Africa 8 18 11 3.60 0 0 29 6/86 23.62 2 3 0
in Sri Lanka 3 14 10* 14.00 0 0 6 3/81 35.66 0 1 0
in West Indies 8 81 39 11.57 0 0 47 6/47 18.65 6 0 0
in Zimbabwe 1 13 13 13.00 0 0 6 3/44 15.00 0 1 0
in Africa 9 31 13 5.16 0 0 35 6/86 22.14 2 4 0
in Americas 8 81 39 11.57 0 0 47 6/47 18.65 6 0 0
in Asia 12 84 21* 10.50 0 0 44 5/66 26.13 1 4 0
in Europe 11 36 20* 12.00 0 0 68 8/38 18.27 6 3 0
in Oceania 44 179 24 4.58 0 0 195 6/17 22.96 8 14 0
home 41 149 24 4.25 0 0 183 6/17 23.00 8 14 0
away 43 262 39 9.35 0 0 206 8/38 20.94 15 11 0
1993 (age: 22y 327d) 2 0 0 0.00 0 0 6 3/66 42.16 0 0 0
1994 (23y 326d) 6 15 9 2.50 0 0 13 4/92 44.38 0 0 0
1995 (24y 326d) 10 17 5 2.12 0 0 52 6/47 21.88 4 2 0
1996 (25y 326d) 5 35 24 7.00 0 0 30 5/50 17.53 1 2 0
1997 (26y 327d) 13 63 20* 7.00 0 0 63 8/38 21.38 4 4 0
1998 (27y 326d) 8 42 14 6.00 0 0 35 6/85 23.42 2 4 0
1999 (28y 326d) 14 114 39 8.76 0 0 67 5/28 21.26 4 7 0
2000 (29y 326d) 8 42 14 6.00 0 0 39 6/17 15.58 3 1 0
2001 (30y 327d) 14 76 21* 15.20 0 0 68 7/76 21.66 4 3 0
2002 (31y 326d) 4 7 4* 3.50 0 0 16 5/21 22.31 1 2 0
season 1993/94 5 11 9 3.66 0 0 12 3/65 40.33 0 0 0
season 1994/95 8 11 4 1.37 0 0 30 6/47 28.10 2 0 0
season 1995/96 6 10 5 2.50 0 0 36 5/40 21.66 2 2 0
season 1996/97 9 49 24 4.90 0 0 41 6/86 20.19 2 4 0
season 1997 6 25 20* 12.50 0 0 36 8/38 19.47 2 2 0
season 1997/98 3 38 18 12.66 0 0 11 5/32 24.00 1 0 0
season 1998/99 12 102 39 8.50 0 0 66 6/85 20.36 6 5 0
season 1999/00 13 70 14 6.36 0 0 56 5/48 21.67 2 6 0
season 2000/01 8 72 21* 14.40 0 0 38 6/17 16.31 1 2 0
season 2001 5 11 8* 11.00 0 0 32 7/76 16.93 4 1 0
season 2001/02 9 12 5 3.00 0 0 31 5/21 29.16 1 3 0
toss won 48 292 39 7.89 0 0 249 8/38 19.97 14 17 0
toss lost 36 119 14 4.57 0 0 140 7/76 25.36 9 8 0
toss won & batted 34 256 39 9.14 0 0 177 7/76 19.93 11 10 0
toss won & fielded 14 36 20* 4.00 0 0 72 8/38 20.05 3 7 0
toss lost & sent in 13 33 11 3.30 0 0 43 6/47 27.06 4 2 0
toss lost & fielded 23 86 14 5.37 0 0 97 7/76 24.60 5 6 0
matches batting 1st 47 289 39 7.60 0 0 220 7/76 21.33 15 12 0
matches fielding 1st 37 122 20* 4.88 0 0 169 8/38 22.66 8 13 0
1st team innings 84 306 39 6.12 0 0 236 8/38 21.19 15 13 0
2nd team innings 82 105 18 8.07 0 0 153 5/21 23.01 8 12 0
1st match innings 84 186 39 6.41 0 0 103 8/38 20.59 6 7 0
2nd match innings 84 120 20* 5.71 0 0 133 7/76 21.66 9 6 0
3rd match innings 82 91 18 11.37 0 0 86 5/21 24.88 4 7 0
4th match innings 61 14 12 2.80 0 0 67 5/28 20.61 4 5 0
no follow-on 78 372 39 6.09 0 0 351 8/38 22.43 20 23 0
enforcing a follow-on 6 39 21* 19.50 0 0 38 5/21 17.13 3 2 0
matches won 52 240 39 6.48 0 0 264 6/17 19.54 13 15 0
matches drawn 14 36 18 5.14 0 0 44 8/38 32.81 3 2 0
matches lost 18 135 21* 7.10 0 0 81 7/76 23.71 7 8 0
won by an innings 16 47 20* 9.40 0 0 84 6/17 17.97 5 4 0
won defending target 18 127 39 6.68 0 0 99 5/28 17.31 4 5 0
won chasing target 18 66 14 5.07 0 0 81 5/40 23.88 4 6 0
lost defending targ. 5 45 21* 5.62 0 0 23 7/76 23.39 1 4 0
lost chasing target 13 90 11 8.18 0 0 58 7/76 23.84 6 4 0
5 day matches 84 411 39 6.52 0 0 389 8/38 21.91 23 25 0
1st/Only Tests 26 139 39 6.95 0 0 125 6/17 21.00 7 4 0
2nd Tests 22 124 24 8.85 0 0 92 8/38 23.02 5 6 0
3rd Tests 22 79 11 4.93 0 0 108 6/47 21.54 8 10 0
4th Tests 7 50 20* 8.33 0 0 28 7/76 25.07 1 2 0
5th Tests 6 17 13 2.83 0 0 29 5/43 22.17 1 3 0
6th Tests 1 2 1* 2.00 0 0 7 7/76 15.57 1 0 0
in series won 65 255 24 5.10 0 0 316 8/38 21.05 19 22 0
in series drawn 10 85 39 14.16 0 0 41 5/28 26.00 4 1 0
in series lost 9 71 21* 10.14 0 0 32 4/18 25.18 0 2 0