CHENNAI: It was 16 years ago — December 1, to be exact — when Glenn McGrath made people mull yet another time if he indeed possessed the power of clairvoyance. The Australian had said before the second Test against the West Indies that he would claim the scalps of Sherwin Campbell and then Brian Lara in order to become the third from his nation to breach the 300-wicket mark.
And, he did. The feat was succeeded the very next ball by the 10th hat-trick in Australia’s history. It wasn’t a result of gleaning future glimpses from a crystal ball. It was, by his own admission, the outcome of a well-formulated gameplan and spot-on execution, coupled with faith in himself.
“I got Sherwin in the slips, courtesy Ricky Ponting. Lara came in, and he edged a nice, low one. Everyone expects hat-trick balls to be either yorkers or ones that are full. I thought that I’d give Jimmy one into the ribs instead. He popped it up to Justin Langer. It was nice that what I’d talked about had come off just like that. Maybe it was the confidence I had,” he recollected.
It is this self-belief that the 46-year-old — currently in the city to launch two new Hardys wines for Sula — preaches as a prerequisite for pacers. “It all boils down to execution. If you have a gameplan, you can go ahead with it. If it doesn’t go as you’d intended, you can change up and adjust according to the situation. Without one, you’ve got no hope. That’s why I tell young bowlers, ‘The only thing that you can control is the area you’re going to bowl. If you don’t know where you’re going to pitch it, you’re going to be in trouble’.”
Despite being the ostensible brand ambassador of accurate-sans-express-pace bowling, McGrath opposes the school of thought that speedsters need to slow down in order to gain more control. “I disagree with that. One thing that comes naturally is pace. You can’t teach bowlers to churn out 150-plus kmph deliveries. You may be able to get some more out of their action, and make a 135 bowler touch 140 or so. But, you can’t get the same guy to 150-plus. I hate seeing bowlers slow down. I’d rather that they work more and develop control at the same pace. You should try and bowl as quick as you can. I did try, but I couldn’t get to the 150s.”
The elaboration above also falls in line with the core mantra that the MRF Pace Foundation — headed by McGrath for almost four years now — espouses.
“Generation of extra pace depends on the strength of the front arm. So, we work on getting that extra down-pull on it, with a weight transfer through the hip on the opposite side. That helps extract a bit more from bowlers without drastic changes to their action.”
rahulravi@newindianexpress.com