McGrath not interested in official bowling coach role

Australia are looking for a new bowling coach with Troy Cooley leaving to head their Centre of Excellence, but Glenn McGrath won't be applying. While his former team-mate Justin Langer quickly traded life in the middle for a role as the team's batting coach, McGrath is comfortable as an occasional adviser to the attack.

McGrath, who took 563 wickets in 124 Tests, will be omnipresent at the SCG over the next week and will seek out the fast men to pass on some tips. "I'm always happy to give advice where I can," he said at the SCG. "I'll chat to the boys a fair bit during this Test match and see what I can do." But he is not interested in an official role.

Four years ago McGrath retired after the 5-0 Ashes whitewash, but the scenery has changed dramatically since then. "To play the Ashes here and lose is pretty disappointing but you know what? It amazes me how, when Australia was so dominant, everyone was saying it was bad for world cricket. All of a sudden, the boys have lost a few games and everyone is calling for their heads."

He maintains faith in the leadership of Ricky Ponting and is confident the team will again climb towards the Test peak. "I've got total faith the boys will bounce back and get back to the top of the tree," he said.

The main purpose of McGrath's week is to raise money for the McGrath Foundation, which supports breast cancer sufferers, and the organisation's major event of the year is the "Pink Test". England want to finish the series with a 3-1 result while Australia are desperately hoping to fight back to secure a draw.

McGrath was the master of the 5-0 pre-series prediction but he has had to revise his tip. "It'll be 2-all," he said, unprompted.