Glenn McGrath turns 51: A look at his monumental feats
Australian maestro Glenn McGrath is one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. A three-time World Cup winner, McGrath, was the flag-bearer of Australia's bowling attack that dominated world cricket for close to a decade. His impeccable line and length jeopardized the greatest batsmen across formats. As the lanky pacer turns 51, we take a look at some of his major feats.
In a career spanning over 13 years, McGrath picked up 563 Test wickets at an amazing average of 21.64. He is still the second-highest wicket-taker among fast bowlers and fifth-highest overall in the format. The tally includes 29 five-fors and 3 ten-fors. McGrath also owns over 350 wickets (381) in ODI cricket, including a best match haul of 7/15.
Till date, McGrath remains the most successful fast bowler across formats. With 949 international scalps at 21.76, he remains the leading wicket-taker among pacers, and fourth-highest overall after Muttiah Muralitharan (1,347), Shane Warne (1,001) and Anil Kumble (956).
McGrath has been a part of Australia's three World Cup-winning campaigns (1999, 2003 and 2007). He still has most wickets in World Cup history. In 39 games, he claimed 71 wickets, three more than his closest rival Muralitharan (68). His final World Cup (2007) was his best wherein he took 26 wickets, second-most in a single WC edition after Mitchell Starc (27).
In 2000, McGrath became only the third Australian to reach 300 Test wickets. He reached the milestone while taking a historic hat-trick, just the 10th by an Australian in Tests and first since Shane Warne (1994/95). Interestingly, his 300th scalp came in the form of former Caribbean batsman Brian Lara, who was caught at fourth slip by Stuart MacGill.
To date, McGrath is the only Australian pacer to play 100 Tests. He achieved the feat in October 2004 against India in Nagpur. He also has the best bowling figures by an Australian bowler and third-best overall in ODIs, having claimed 7/15 against Namibia, in February 2003. McGrath holds the record for dismissing most batsmen for a duck in Test cricket (104).
