My very first selection for the State Virtual Cricket competition was Glenn McGrath to be the best performed bowler in the first innings of the second Ashes test. He returned the worst bowling figures of his career. Bloody typical.
McGrath’s lack of pace has started an instant barrage from the English press. “Decline of McGrath is clear to see” trumpets a headline in the Daily Telegraph. "His time is nearly up" claims Angus Fraser in the Independent.
I was originally going to use this blog to counter these arguments. After all, McGrath took 6-50 against England just last week and he might still be suffering from the effects of a heel injury. Then I noticed a column penned by McGrath himself. In this column the medium pacer claims that his heel is fine. And that he has good rhythm and bowled well. And that its all the pitch's fault.
Hum. The first claim and the last claim might have some merit. But if McGrath thinks that he bowled well then he is clearly delusional. I would have accepted it if he admitted that he had had a bad day. Or even that the injury was having an impact. But to claim that he "was pretty pleased" with the pile of old rubbish he delivered on Friday and Saturday and that his "rhythm was the best it's been all year" is to be in denial. Perhaps the English press has a point?
Monday, 4 December 2006
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I agree that it seems a bit premature to write McGrath off after one bad spell, but the British press have always been impulsive and short-termist about everything. That said, the column is strange - presumably ghost-written, it makes him seem a lot more sanguine about everything than he obviously was when Pietersen was creaming him all over the place. He's either delusional or the column is a lame attempt by his ghost-writer to spin things his way. My guess is that he knows damn well it wasn't all down to the pitch but he's trying to convince himself that Pietersen and Collingwood just got lucky. Time will tell.
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