McGrath: India Will Have Their Work Cut Out In Australia

Mumbai: The irony can't be missed when you see Australia Tourism brand ambassador, Glenn McGrath, welcoming Indian tourists Down Under to watch the cricket action unfold later this year. As he reels off names of exotic places, the mind jogs back to the years when he made batsmen feel unwelcome in Australia with his no-holds-barred verbal volleys.

It didn't end there. He translated his strong words into wickets and, along the way became one of cricket's all-time greats. "In my 14-year-career I've featured in only two series defeats and on both occasions it was against India. The one-off Test at Delhi in 1996 and the 2001 series," he says of his impeccable 124-Test career, which ended in 2006-07 with 563 victims to his name.

Excerpts from an interview to TOI:

Do you see this Indian team challenging Australia?

We've seen England dominate the last three Tests, which isn't a good sign. Indian teams have always struggled in Australia because of the extra bounce and seam movement. It has always been an issue for them, but I think the bowlers do enjoy playing in Australia. If the Australian team plays the way it did against England last year, then it will be a tough series for India considering they have a fair bit of work to do. Their fielding in England was horrendous. You can't afford to drop three or four catches every game. With Mitchell Johnson bowling at 150 (kph), and with control, India have their work cut out. Tour matches will be important for India.

The Aussies love to see their team being challenged?

They did enjoy Australia beating England 5-0. Yeah, they want to see challenging cricket, not one-sided affairs like it happened in England.

You were never afraid to back yourself publicly... targeting the main batsman of the opposing team. Where did this confidence come from?

I always had that self-belief. Growing up on a farm you are instilled with certain work ethics. When I was seven, I was working on the farm and driving tractors and cars. It gives you confidence as well. I enjoyed the challenge that is why I liked to make predictions and target batsmen. I believed I was good enough to deliver. But if they were good to beat me at my game, I could live with it. If you like to be like anyone else, you do what everyone else does. If you want to be different or better than everyone else, then you need to do something apart from them.

You are one of the few fast bowlers who played 100-plus Tests. You think there'll be fewer bowlers reaching the landmark in the post T20 era?

It is tough bowling day in and day out. There were few things that kept me in good stead right through my career. I didn't bowl a great deal when I was younger. I was prepared to work as hard as possible off the field and that made my life easier on it. The idea was to get fit and very strong. I could handle the rigors of fast bowling quite well. You need an off season to recharge the batteries. Probably genetics, too, played a role in my case. My bone density is very high and that helped me get through injuries. I just wanted to bowl every second over of the innings. I wanted to play every game and I never wanted to be rested. That is the attitude you've got to have. You've got to work hard off the field to get through on it.

What are your views on the Anderson-Jadeja spat?

I think that was a big turning point in the series. The England team steeled themselves after that. India were leading 1-0 but they got distracted. They were talking more about that than executing their on-field plans. England went from strength to strength and India went from bad to worse. You need to put these things behind when you enter the field.