Published: Aug 26, 2015, 12:46 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 26, 2015, 12:46 PM (IST)
Former Australia pacer Glenn McGrath said that England’s new found confidence and young cricketers make them a quality team at home. In an interview to DNA, McGrath said, “I was confident Australia will play well in England. Unfortunately, it has not turned out their way. England are a quality team at home. They have got a new-found confidence, they have got young guys coming into the team. I think Australia were probably not ready for this England team and the English conditions. They have really produced wickets that suited English cricket, which is a fair thing to do. Australia have just not adapted. The batsmen have gone too hard at the ball. Our bowlers have not hit the right areas. And have not bowled the right way in English conditions and England won. In the final Test, our batsmen were a lot more watchful, they allowed the ball to come, were prepared to leave the ball more. They adjusted a little bit to the conditions but a little too late.” Glenn McGrath: Sachin Tendulkar said there is no substitute for hard work
“We have not won (Ashes) in England for a long time. It is always tough seeing Australia lose, even tougher when it is England beating us. The old enemy, growing up it was always Australia vs England much like the India vs Pakistan. It was tough but unfortunately you have to give credit to England, they played better and deserved to win.” Glenn McGrath: Denniss Lillee is the best fast bowling coach in the world
Speaking about Michael Clarke and whether it was the right time for the ICC World Cup 2015-winning captain to retire, McGrath said, “That is the way it goes. We all have to retire at some time. I remember Michael’s debut — Bangalore 2004, 150 on debut. Not a bad start. He has scored some big runs for Australia. He has been a quality batsman for a long long time. Unfortunately, he has had trouble with injury and that has impacted on him as a player. His average is almost 50 in Tests. He has gone out on his own terms. He led Australia to World Cup glory recently. Unfortunately, the Ashes series did not go the way he would have liked it to. But he would have retired either way. He is going on his own terms. He is a strong character and has done well.” Glenn McGrath: Varun Aaron has got a huge amount of potential
While praising both Dale Steyn and James Anderson, McGrath pointed that if the ball is not swinging in favour of the latter, the English bowler struggles. “Steyn is a quality bowler, one of the best of all time. He has a strike rate of under 42 which is as good as it gets. Jimmy Anderson is also a quality bowler. Unfortunately, if the ball is swinging, there is no better bowler. If the ball is not swinging, he really struggles. Both have taken over 400 Test wickets, which shows the quality of them.” McGrath on Kohli: Aggressive cricket is about body language and intent
“I always prefer playing Tests over ODIs. It is the ultimate to me. Maybe they have got goals to achieve in the Test arena. I look at Dale Steyn, he bowls in good areas, can swing the ball, but he doesn’t have a great deal of variation. Maybe that is why he does not play the shorter version of the game. Those two guys really want to focus on Test cricket.”
