No matter how many fast bowlers come and go, the world will not have another Glenn McGrath- accuracy, Pace, Bounce, Length at its best. He had a high arm bowling action, which only knew the good length. McGrath was someone who could take wickets against any opponent in any condition, even if he would have managed a wicket in a turning square. In his 14 years of career, McGrath took more than 900 wickets. There are some interesting facts about Glen McGrath, the best fast bowler of all time, Glenn McGrath. Let’s have a look at them.
26 Interesting Facts About Glenn McGrath
- Glenn Donald McGrath was born on 9th February 1970 in Dubbo, New South Wales to Beverly and Kevin McGrath.
- When McGrath first played cricket, former Australian cricketer Doug Walters acknowledged his talent.
- In his younger days, Glenn McGrath used to ball behind sheds pretending a 44-gallon drum as a wicket.
- McGrath’s nickname is Pigeon. Ex Australian player Brad McNamara gave the nickname for stealing a pigeon’s leg.
- Mcgrath’s family was so poor that they had to live in a beach caravan. In order to play grade cricket, he has to move to Sydney. He even worked in a Bank to support his family and McGrath would sign the withdrawal papers and pass it to the girls saying “Keep it because I am going to be famous one day”.
- Glenn McGrath made his first-class debut for New South Wales in the 1992-93 season. He only played eight FC games before getting into the test squad.
- The 6ft 6-inch pacer played his maiden test against neighbor New Zealand in 1993. Nobody knew that McGrath is gonna be the best fast bowler of all time, he ended up taking 563 wickets in 124 matches, which is 2nd most by any seamer in the test.
- The veteran bowler’s hobby is hunting wild pigs.
- In the longest format in the game, McGrath bagged former English batsman Michael Atherton’s wicket 19 times, which is the most by any bowler against any batsman.
- Glenn McGrath is the highest wicket-taker among pacers in international cricket, with 949 wickets in 376 wickets.
- McGrath played his first ODI match against South Africa in 1993, he went onto become the highest wicket-taker for Australia in ODIs, 381 wickets in 250 matches.
- The stalwart from Australia won 4 ICC events with Australia- 1999 World Cup, 2003 World Cup, 2007 World Cup, and 2006 Champions Trophy.
- Not everyone is aware of but Glenn McGrath has had the most scalps in the World Cup history, 71 wickets in 39 matches.
- One interesting fact about McGrath is he played 2 T20I for Australia, taking 5 wickets in 2 matches.
- County cricket and the best cricketers in the world have a decent relationship. McGrath represented 2 county sides in his career- Worcestshire (2000) & Middlesex (2004).
- During the 2005 Ashes Series, McGrath said-” If England wins the series, then I would go home by boat”, but England beat Australia by 2-1 and McGrath took a nice flight home.
- McGrath has dismissed 104 batsmen for a duck in Test, which is joint-most by any bowler in the history.
- One of the greatest batsmen of all time, Brian Lara was his 300th victim in test cricket. McGrath took a hat-trick in that match and Lara was the 2nd wicket of the hat-trick.
- The elegant pace bowler has made his appearance in the best franchise league in the world too, he played for Delhi Daredevils for 3 years (2008-10).
- Apart from cricket, Glenn McGrath is fond of cooking too. He has written a book on cooking called “Barbecue With The Master”.
- Glenn Mcgrath helps Indian fast bowlers to improve their bowling. He is the current director of the MRF Pace Foundation.
- The aggressive fast bowler is associated with charity also. McGrath founded “McGrath Foundation”, a breast cancer support and education charity, which increases awareness among women in Australia.
- McGrath’s first wife was Jane, who he met in a nightclub in Hongkong. The couple got married in 2001. But due to breast cancer, She passed away in 2008. McGrath got married for the 2nd time to an interior designer named Sara Leonardi in 2009.
- For his stupendous show in international cricket, ICC inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2013.
- Mcgrath’s jersey number was 11.
- The legendary fast bowler’s estimated net worth is $8 million.
Senior Cricket Content Editor at Skyblogs Cricket.
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