McGrath heads to Caribbean

Pace bowler Glenn McGrath is on his way back to the West Indies to re-join his Australian cricket team-mates after his cancer-stricken wife declared she wanted some normality back in her life.

McGrath returned from Australia's Caribbean tour after his wife Jane was diagnosed with secondary cancer in her hip earlier this month.

The diagnosis relates to the breast cancer she fought in 1997, when she endured six months of chemotherapy before being cleared of cancer in June 1998.

It was not originally known when or if McGrath would re-join the team in the West Indies, with Australia taking a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series.

Australia is in a commanding position midway through the second Test as it tries to retain the Frank Worrell trophy.

But McGrath's decision to re-join the team came after a specialist said his wife's condition was not as bad as first feared.

She will still undergo radiation therapy but is expected to make a full recovery.

McGrath said his wife wanted to get back to a normal routine and that meant her husband playing cricket.

"She started treatment last week and that's gone very well," McGrath told Channel Nine.

"And Jane just wants a bit of normality back in her life and for her, that's me playing cricket."

McGrath will available for selection for the third Test starting in Bridgetown on May 1.