Glenn McGrath

The metronome of Australian cricket's golden era.

Glenn Donald McGrath (born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer whose career spanned 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace bowler and is considered one of cricket's greatest bowlers and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s.

Quick Facts

Country: Australia
Full name: Glenn Donald McGrath
Nickname: Pigeon
Born: 9 February 1970
Birthplace: Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia
Height: 197 cm / 6 ft 6 in
Role: Bowler
Batting: Right-handed

Lore & Background

McGrath was a member of the Australian team that won three consecutive World Cup trophies (1999, 2003, 2007) and the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy. In terms of total career Test wickets taken by fast bowlers, McGrath is the third-most successful of all fast bowlers, behind James Anderson and Stuart Broad. On the list of all Test bowlers, he is sixth, and while his average of 21.64 is exceptional, several bowlers with at least 200 wickets have a lower average. He has taken the seventh-highest number of one day international wickets (381) and holds the record for most wickets (71) in the Cricket World Cup. McGrath announced his retirement from Test cricket on 23 December 2006, with his Test career ending after the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney in January 2007, while the 2007 World Cup saw him win the man-of-the-tournament award. He later played for the Delhi DareDevils in the Indian Premier League and was one of the competition's most economical bowlers during its first season. McGrath is the director of MRF Pace Foundation, Chennai, replacing Dennis Lillee, and serves as president of the McGrath Foundation. He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in January 2013.

Reader's Guide

McGrath's bowling relied on unerring accuracy, subtle seam movement, and extra bounce from his height (195 cm) and high arm action. He deliberately targeted opposition batsmen before series, a ploy that often worked. He dismissed Mike Atherton 19 times, the most times any batsman has been dismissed by one bowler in cricket history. He took a hat-trick against the West Indies by dismissing Sherwin Campbell, Brian Lara, and Jimmy Adams in consecutive balls.

Did You Know?

McGrath took 80 wickets at 13.21 for Worcestershire in the 2000 English County Championship, including 8–41 against Northamptonshire.
He became the fourth bowler in history to take 500 Test wickets, dismissing Marcus Trescothick at Lord's in the 2005 Ashes.
He was the leading wicket taker in World Cup history with 71 wickets and took 26 wickets in the 2007 World Cup, winning player of the tournament.