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14 years ago, @glennmcgrath11 played his last game for Australia.
17 years ago, the mogul of attrition was on strike. Australia had learnt their lessons from their tour 3 years ago, in 2001. The Great Wall of India weathered the attack as if his life depended on it.
(A thread)
17 years ago, the mogul of attrition was on strike. Australia had learnt their lessons from their tour 3 years ago, in 2001. The Great Wall of India weathered the attack as if his life depended on it.
(A thread)
A mere five balls later, he was back in the Pavillion, making a mess of his off stump. I have said it before and I'll say it again - If there was ever a moment in Dravid's career when he hadn't a clue about what to do on the 22 yards,
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it was these 5 balls he faced, by Glenn Donald McGrath - arguably, THE greatest fast bowler to take birth on this planet. The two of them today keep showering praise at it each other, but that day, when the two of them were at the peak of their careers, one emerged victorious.
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But do I really need to say more about someone who more often than not, made an absolute bunny out of best in the world, notably, God himself?
Too tall, too thin, pigeon legs, talented as much as a broomstick, shy - hardly the hashtags you'd associate with an Australian fast
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Too tall, too thin, pigeon legs, talented as much as a broomstick, shy - hardly the hashtags you'd associate with an Australian fast
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bowler. To add to that, he was boring, and much like Dravid, believed in tiring out and outwitting the opposition. The 90s and the early 2000s are famous for the stumps rattling and cartwheeling. McGrath wasn't inflicting this damage in most occasions.
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He focused on the dry and jejune - bowling the same line and length, over, and over, and over again. He wasn't known to "send the bails to Wales". Neither was he an express train, running in from the edge of the stadium, smashing into the batsman's head.
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He was mostly about hitting the top of the stumps, aided by a little bit of movement, and largely, mental strength. Pigeon wasn't your typical eye-pleasing dinner plate made by a Michelin star chef, but your regular order of a cold chicken sandwich which was effective,
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and got the job done.
From a kid who left school because he was too shy to speak, the Big Fella ended his career at a stage where he did not need to speak. When he had the red cherry in his hands, it would both talk, and swear.
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From a kid who left school because he was too shy to speak, the Big Fella ended his career at a stage where he did not need to speak. When he had the red cherry in his hands, it would both talk, and swear.
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When this very swearing claimed Strauss, for Pigeon's 501st, the late Tony Greig announced on air "He's one of them!".
I think most pacers today would be happy, just to hear: "they are one of his kind."
I think most pacers today would be happy, just to hear: "they are one of his kind."
