'The best I've bowled in two or three years' - McGrath
As you'd expect, Glenn McGrath was quite pleased with his work after taking 4 for 55 in the Indian first innings
Andrew Miller in Bangalore
24-Jun-2005
As you'd expect, Glenn McGrath was rather pleased with his work after taking 4 for 55 in the Indian first innings. Here's what he had to say after the third day of the Bangalore Test:
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On his impressive return to form
I guess the first day of the tour game in Mumbai gave me a lot of confidence. It's been well documented now that I've swapped my boots for a pair that are a lot lighter, and a lot lower-cut. I now feel lighter on my feet, and I go through the crease with a lot more energy. That gives me a lot of confidence to get back to where I want to be. There's still plenty in the tank, and it would be nice to have a reserve as well. But this is the best I've bowled in two or three years, which is pleasing.
I guess the first day of the tour game in Mumbai gave me a lot of confidence. It's been well documented now that I've swapped my boots for a pair that are a lot lighter, and a lot lower-cut. I now feel lighter on my feet, and I go through the crease with a lot more energy. That gives me a lot of confidence to get back to where I want to be. There's still plenty in the tank, and it would be nice to have a reserve as well. But this is the best I've bowled in two or three years, which is pleasing.
On his explosive new-ball burst
You can't ask for a better start than two wickets in two overs, and really I've just continued from there. To get a guy of the calibre of [Rahul] Dravid out was a particularly big moment for us. It was his first duck on home soil, and we capitalised on that with six wickets by the close.
You can't ask for a better start than two wickets in two overs, and really I've just continued from there. To get a guy of the calibre of [Rahul] Dravid out was a particularly big moment for us. It was his first duck on home soil, and we capitalised on that with six wickets by the close.
On the reverse-swing on offer
Well, there's no grass on the wicket, so it's the sort of thing you'd expect in India. Generally, you'd expect the new ball to carry through okay, and then it would start to reverse as the game goes on. Maybe we didn't expect it after just 10 overs, but it was the same for India as well. This wicket is particularly abrasive on the ball - it scuffs it up quite a bit, so if you keep it shiny on one side, then hopefully it will reverse.
Well, there's no grass on the wicket, so it's the sort of thing you'd expect in India. Generally, you'd expect the new ball to carry through okay, and then it would start to reverse as the game goes on. Maybe we didn't expect it after just 10 overs, but it was the same for India as well. This wicket is particularly abrasive on the ball - it scuffs it up quite a bit, so if you keep it shiny on one side, then hopefully it will reverse.
On the match situation
It would be nice to get about 450-500 in front, and leave India a minimum of four-and-a-half sessions to survive. The wicket's getting tougher to bat on, so we're in a pretty good position, but another 100-150 runs would be good. We'll see how the first session goes, and take it from there.
It would be nice to get about 450-500 in front, and leave India a minimum of four-and-a-half sessions to survive. The wicket's getting tougher to bat on, so we're in a pretty good position, but another 100-150 runs would be good. We'll see how the first session goes, and take it from there.
On an old-fashioned, attritional day of cricket
This wicket is slow, the ball is not coming on, so the only thing to do is build pressure. It's tough to blast teams out on wickets like this. India were digging in, and not going for too many big shots, but we did well to knock them over by the drinks break in the second session.
This wicket is slow, the ball is not coming on, so the only thing to do is build pressure. It's tough to blast teams out on wickets like this. India were digging in, and not going for too many big shots, but we did well to knock them over by the drinks break in the second session.
On the ghost of Kolkata
To be honest, when it came to the follow-on, we didn't really think about what happened last time. Our decision was made more on the state of the wicket. It's been hard work out there, the fast bowlers have got a few overs under their belts, and with not much bounce, we've tried to hit the deck a lot of the time. Plus the wicket will get worse from now on, so it's better to bat on day three than on days four and five. That was sole reason for not enforcing the follow-on.
To be honest, when it came to the follow-on, we didn't really think about what happened last time. Our decision was made more on the state of the wicket. It's been hard work out there, the fast bowlers have got a few overs under their belts, and with not much bounce, we've tried to hit the deck a lot of the time. Plus the wicket will get worse from now on, so it's better to bat on day three than on days four and five. That was sole reason for not enforcing the follow-on.
On the balance of Australia's attack
Funnily enough, if you look at the second Test last time around, it was exactly the same attack, so hopefully things will turn out different this time. But we're a lot more experienced now. Warnie's back to bowling as well as I've seen him, me and Dizzy [Jason Gillespie] are about the same, but it's Kasper [Michael Kasprowicz] who's improved the most, and he's really impressed me, probably since the Sri Lanka tour.
Funnily enough, if you look at the second Test last time around, it was exactly the same attack, so hopefully things will turn out different this time. But we're a lot more experienced now. Warnie's back to bowling as well as I've seen him, me and Dizzy [Jason Gillespie] are about the same, but it's Kasper [Michael Kasprowicz] who's improved the most, and he's really impressed me, probably since the Sri Lanka tour.