McGrath at the crossroads

Glenn McGrath celebrates a wicket in Harare - but it was one of only two © Getty Images

It may be deep in the heart of football season, but Australia has a home Test cricket series less than a month away. And all is not well.

Glenn McGrath has been a champion for so long that we've been taking him for granted. Wind him up and watch those ungainly limbs somehow coalesce to deliver 5 1/2 ounces of red leather in exactly the spot batsmen don't like. Time after time. Never missing a beat; a chronometer among fast bowlers.

For a decade McGrath has been Australia's pre-eminent new-ball specialist, and by most reckonings one of the greatest bowlers of all time. The figures don't lie. In 95 Tests he has taken 430 wickets - second only to Shane Warne (517) among Australians, and sixth on the all-time list. With five more wickets he will have only Muttiah Muralitharan, Courtney Walsh and Warne ahead of him.

McGrath's signature delivery is the one that lands at an awkward length in the so-called "corridor of uncertainty" just outside the line of off-stump. He's not all that quick, but he's relentless, and it is reflected in not only the number of wickets he has taken, but in the strike rate (52.0) and average (21.71), which are exceptional. Time, however, is the master of all cricketers. Especially fast bowlers.

McGrath is 34. He has now delivered that bit of leather 32,314 times in Tests and one-dayers. The sheer physical work has taken its toll, particularly on his ankles. Previously renowned for being injury-proof, McGrath had surgery twice last year, and has missed Australia's past nine Test matches.

The growths on his ankle bone were obviously restricting him before he opted for the scalpel. In the five preceding Tests, McGrath's returns were ordinary - 10 wickets at an average of more than 36. The last two of those matches were against Test bunnies Bangladesh. And compared to Jason Gillespie and Stuart MacGill, he struggled. Plainly, McGrath is no longer the bowler he was.

The question is, can he regain his old form? He had hoped to use Australia's recent tour to strife-torn Zimbabwe as the springboard back to the top. But the Tests were cancelled, and the tour was reduced to three meaningless one-day internationals and practice matches against third rate sides.

McGrath flew home this week with a sum total of 37 African overs under his belt and a threadbare return of 2-110. He declared it useful, but it was hardly encouraging. By the third match he had suffered the indignity of being relegated to change bowler behind Gillespie and the resurgent Michael Kasprowicz.

McGrath himself thought that was a fair call, but said he was happy that he had improved with every outing, and was "not too far away" from full form. "The last one-dayer it was starting to feel really good," he said. "The rhythm was coming back then and I think that with another couple of matches, the zip and everything would have come back. I'll try to keep bowling the next couple of weeks and then hopefully I'll be ready to go."

Fast-bowling coach Geoff Lawson is among those who are not so sure, arguing that McGrath has problems with his technique. "Technically he's still making some errors that we don't normally see from him," he said. "He's been taking a big step in, in his delivery. When he runs straight through he's much better."

Lawson said the flaw was restricting McGrath's ability to get his right shoulder far enough around, which robs him of both speed and accuracy. "I've haven't seen him bowl so many wide balls and short balls for a long time," Lawson said. "It's just not there. He's getting poor figures against people who can't play that well, and that has to be a worry."

While it is dangerous to read too much into a tour like Zimbabwe, McGrath has been back in action for four months and still the engine is spluttering. He's played a couple of grade matches, a Pura Cup match, a NSW Second XI match and the four games in Zimbabwe, sending down more than 130 overs. And while he says there hasn't been much "ouch" in his ankle, neither has there been any Ooh-Aah in his bowling. "McGrath's a very hard trainer, Lawson explained, "but when you get to that age, injuries are so much harder to come back from."

Next stop for McGrath is an indoor net at the Sydney Cricket Ground, then the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. Net bowling is only part of the answer, and he knows it. So does Ricky Ponting.

"It's all about him getting his rhythm back in the middle," Ponting said. "You can do as much bowling as you like in the nets, but it's nowhere near as valuable as game practice is. He's got a bit of work to do yet, but with 400-odd Test wickets to his name, I'm sure he'll be back playing well again pretty soon."

When asked, Ponting said he expected to toss the new ball to McGrath when Australia plays Sri Lanka in Darwin on July 1. But only after an initial "maybe". For the past 10 years there has been no maybe about it. Start of Test innings equals throw new ball to McGrath. No maybes. The skipper's hesitation betrayed his concern.

While in Zimbabwe, McGrath spoke of his ambition to reach 100 Tests, 500 wickets and to keep playing until the 2007 World Cup. It's a tantalising thought, especially in days when cricketers are keen to extend their careers into their late 30s because they can earn sixand seven-figure sums a year.

It may be all right for batsmen, but fast bowlers need to be exceptional to stand up to it. Which makes Courtney Walsh's record all the more remarkable - he played well into his 39th year.

In Zimbabwe, McGrath raised the prospect of winding back the speed, of mellowing into fast-medium in the style of Allan Donald, Dennis Lillee, and perhaps most effectively, Richard Hadlee. They substituted grunt for guile and continued to take quality wickets when age had stiffened their bones. McGrath, though, has never been an express bowler, and finds it difficult now to get much above 130kph. He is a more front-on style of bowler, and the transition might not be so easy.

Gillespie, who has now assumed the mantle of Australia's leading fast bowler, believes reports of McGrath's demise as a new-ball bowler are premature. "He's an opening bowler and he has been an opening bowler all his career," Gillespie said. "No doubt, if the opportunity was there for him to have a different role he would embrace it and enjoy it. But I know he loves opening the bowling. It doesn't bother me, he can open the bowling any time he likes."