On this day, February 9, 1970: One of the greatest pacers, Glenn McGrath is born. Legendary Australian pacer, Glenn McGrath made his Test debut in 1993 replacing Merv Hughes. He went on to become the leading wicket-taker in Test among fast bowlers at that time when he went past Courtney Walsh’s 519 wickets.
He was also excellent in the World Cup 2003 and one of his special performances came against Namibia in 2003 where he picked up 7/15. He completed his 500 Test wickets at Lords in 2005. Glenn McGrath stood out as a very disciplined line and length bowler and his accuracy was one of his special strengths.
Glenn McGrath played 124 Test matches picking up 563 wickets at an average of 21.64. At that time, he was the highest wicket-taker among pacers until James Anderson went past him recently. McGrath also played 250 ODI matches where he picked up 381 wickets at an average of 22.
One of his best performances also came at the fag end of his career where he picked up 26 wickets in the 2007 World Cup which the Australian team won. He was also part of multiple successful World Cup campaigns in his career.
In 2004, McGrath became the first fast bowler to play 100 Test matches for Australia and one his key performance was when he picked up 8/24 against Pakistan in Perth which knocked them down. He also had his share of moments with his batting and he played a knock of 61 against New Zealand coming in at Number 11.
This was the third highest score by a batter at that number. Glenn McGrath has bowled 29,248 balls in his career which is the eighth most by any bowler. He was also the fastest to 450 wickets at that time. In ODIs he picked up five wicket hauls seven times and was also fastest to 300 ODI wickets by any pacer during that time. Glenn McGrath ended up as one of the greatest bowlers ever by the time he retired and his accuracy and skills are still talked about even to this date. This is a memorable day for him.
