McGrath's downbeat departure

In the end, it was all a little infradig. "I must say I'm a bit disappointed. I thought there'd be more people here," muttered Glenn McGrath through teeth that were, conceivably, gritted in jest. Australia's second earth-shattering retirement in three days, and their third in the space of three weeks, was a quiet, undemonstrative affair by the standards of Shane Warne's great showstopper earlier in the week.

Whereas Warne had donned his best bib and tucker to deliver his address from the venerable Members' Dining Room overlooking the great old ground, McGrath's ceremony took place in lanes 2 and 3 of the MCG's indoor nets, deep in the stadium's echoing bowels, attended by a small circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances.

Compared to the state funeral that had gone before, this was a budget cremation - another announcement thrown onto the bonfire of media vanity. Initially, it was delayed to accommodate an Australian team meeting, and then, when it did finally take place, it was shoehorned in between another banal press appearance from Andrew Flintoff (who revealed, exclusively to all media, that his team still has a lot of heart and pride) and a duel statement from Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds, who are extending their support of a breast cancer charity. McGrath had never planned it this way. In fact, his ideal scenario was an announcement in the New Year, in his hometown of Sydney, ahead of the very last Test of his great 555-wicket career.

But, as with all such well-laid plans, it went out of the window as soon as the rumour-mongers got to work. Only yesterday, McGrath was announcing to the airwaves of Australia that he had no intention of bowing out just yet, but even he could only keep a straight face for so long. "It was a good plan in theory," he shrugged. "But there's been so much hearsay and scrutiny in the last few days, we just wanted to get it out of the way so we could get back and concentrate on the last few Test matches. It's only in last couple of games I made decision to hang up the boots, but trying to deny about retiring without lying was a bit tough, because I've always been honest."

There was, nevertheless, something strangely fitting about such a downbeat departure. A fundamental lack of glamour has, after all, been McGrath's calling card throughout his illustrious career. "My strength was what I did with the ball," he added. "My accuracy in hitting the spot, getting good bounce, and the mental side of my game." Showmanship, aside from the odd brash statement here and there, never came into the equation.

McGrath and Warne are as inseparable a combination as has ever existed in Test cricket, with more than 1250 Test wickets between them. But, as McGrath himself acknowledged, fast bowlers come and go - once-in-a-lifetime spin wizards, however, are a little harder to replace. "The young guys are coming through," said McGrath. "The cupboard's not bare.

"Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson are waiting in the wings, and I feel comfortable leaving now, knowing there's plenty guys to come in and fill my role." But, he added: "in respect of Shane, I think that's a hole that's going to be harder to fill. He's one of the best, if not the best cricketer there's been, and certainly the best I've played alongside."

"It's the mateship I'll miss the most," he added. "I haven't really looked back over my career just yet, but what I've achieved and what the team has achieved, sometimes you have to pinch yourself. This is the best team in the world, and I'd be happy to play with any one of the guys I've played with over the last 13 years. We've won every trophy going. We've regained the Ashes, we've won the Champions Trophy for the first time, and hopefully we'll win the World Cup for a third time."

The World Cup is, of course, one notable reason why McGrath's big send-off was not quite so big as that for Warne. Selection pending, he will be around for another four months yet, finding improbable lift from a good length, and getting inside his opponents' heads by naming his bunnies in the build-up to a contest.

"That came around a bit by mistake," he explained of his habit for singling out his opponents. "If I'd knocked a guy over a few times, then I'd start naming them for a bit of fun, and that would grow a bit of momentum in itself. Some of them worked really well for me, especially if they forgot about the guys at the other end."

And so, for old times' sake, McGrath was asked to name his bunnies for the upcoming contest. "Andrew Strauss is a big key," he eventually volunteered, "and Cook played well [at the WACA]. Opening batsmen are the guys the opening bowlers need to knock over, although Kevin Pietersen looks like a class player for years to come."

In a composed 20-minute appearance, McGrath struggled to find an answer only once. "Tough one, isn't it!" he asked rhetorically when quizzed on the best English batsman he had come up against in his career, before reeling off the usual suspects - Mike Atherton, Alec Stewart, Nasser Hussain and Marcus Trescothick. "It's the senior players who make a team," he added, somewhat poignantly for any Australians listening.

"Those guys can take a lot of credit," he added. "They were good battles, but we had it over them. There is something about Australia v England. It's what you want to do as a kid growing up. You want to play for Australia ...and beat them."