Headhunter

In all my years in cricket I've heard a few team talks. Nothing much changes when it comes to the bowling plan. "Come on lads, bowl into the wicket, bowl at the top of the off stump, down the channel, through to the keeper, no easy runs, bowl maidens, don't let the pressure off." Most bowlers would then go out and get it right ... some of the time. There is one fellow, though, who gets it right most, if not all, of the time - Glenn McGrath.

Actually we Kiwis once had a chap who was a bit like that: his name was Richard Hadlee. It's Sir Richard Hadlee now. He was knighted because he bowled the ball into the wicket, top of off stump, down the channel, through to the keeper, no easy runs, bowled maidens and didn't let the pressure off most of if not all the time.

Martin Crowe, New Zealand's best-ever batsman, faced Glenn McGrath in McGrath's first Test match in 1993 and thought he was a bit like Hadlee but could even be better because he got a bit more bounce.

McGrath is a role model for the average cricketer. Not everyone has the natural attributes and biomechanical perfection of a Brett Lee, nor the freakish elbow joint of a Shoaib Akhtar but many have a tidy action and a little pace. McGrath shows what can be achieved with a tidy action and a little pace by applying the basics, showing patience, and having unending accuracy. I have no idea why he's nicknamed `Pigeon' because we all know what pigeons spray everywhere on a regular basis, and that's nothing like Glenn McGrath.

I've faced Lee and Shoaib and I'll tell you, I'd have to take them over McGrath any day. While all bowlers want to get you out, some cough up a few runs in the process. McGrath gives you nothing. If you are not getting out you aren't scoring either. It does your head in. Eventually he forces you into a desperate mistake and - hey presto - you're his. If you're not his, he has probably forced you into a having a silly slog at Shane Warne and then you're instead.

When you face up to the McGrath-Warne combination, you feel like a mouse being played with by a cat. While the West Indians of the eighties went straight for the jugular, these two Australian bowlers like to torment you mentally before sinking their teeth in. It is an experience hard to bounce back from.

It is not just McGrath's modus operandi that makes him so effective; you still need some top attributes to be effective at the highest level. He has height, which he uses to generate bounce, which is a Test batsman's enemy. He bowls in the low-to-mid-130kph region which, while not life threatening, is fast enough. Most importantly, he has possibly the best wrist action in the game. At delivery, McGrath's wrist goes from cocked way back to straight down. It doesn't allow him to prodigiously swing the ball but it allows him to land the ball on the seam time and time again.

When you play McGrath, you know what to expect. He will bowl fast enough, he will bowl in the awkward area where you're not quite sure whether to play forward or back, he will bowl you a bouncer an over to make that decision even harder, and he will seam the ball on the most batter-friendly surfaces. However, he does have another attribute as well that makes him so good - he gets inside your head.

McGrath has two ways of making you go into mental meltdown. When he is on song, he just plugs away. He doesn't need to say anything because the little guy inside your own head is doing all the talking for him. If things aren't going so well and you are having your day, he'll pipe up. He will have a crack at you in a way to upset your composure and batting rhythm. Simply, if he can't have any, you aren't allowed any either.

When we did okay at Perth in 2001, our plan was to leave McGrath alone as he doesn't attack the stumps that often and we looked to score off the other bowlers. Jason Gillespie attacked and missed his lengths from time to time as did Brett Lee, and Warne was yet to regain his best. However, on our return last November, the plan didn't work. Yes, we attempted to deny McGrath but unfortunately Gillespie was tighter than ever, Warne was at his best again and Michael Kasprowicz was as unrelenting with his accuracy as McGrath. There is the odd player out there who can attack this Australian bowling unit -Virender Sehwag comes to mind - but when you rely on poor balls to score, playing Australia becomes a very, very mentally testing experience indeed.