McGrath satisfied with recovery

Glenn McGrath is satisfied with his recovery from a recent ankle injury, and is following the advice of John Buchanan, the Australian coach, to play cricket in the off season.

McGrath, who underwent two ankle operations last year, and was sorely missed by Australia in their home series against India, had signed a short-term contract with Middlesex to play in the English County Championship. "I haven't played a great deal in Australia recently," AFP reported McGrath as saying. "So John Buchanan said I needed a bit more cricket, and there was a window between the end of the Test series against Sri Lanka and the start of the Champions Trophy."

One of the 26 Australians playing in the County Championship this season, McGrath was very happy with his recovery after the ankle operation. "The ankle is great again. I had three spurs on the ankle. One of them was removed, but if I had the other two taken off, I would have been out for too long.

"As it was," he continued, "I snapped one off when I was preparing for the Zimbabwe series. Before the operation I couldn't put my front foot down as well as I liked, but against Sri Lanka I hit the crease hard. I had been trying to get there for the last two years."

He signed off with a characteristic Australian cockiness when asked about next years Ashes series. "My prediction? 3-0."