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"Greatest fast bowler that I played against has to be Glenn McGrath" : Rahul Dravid

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Some of his best centuries have come against the mighty Australian attack which comprised a battery of fearsome pacers, but batting legend Rahul Dravid admitted that the greatest fast bowler he had faced was Aussie Glenn McGrath.

"They (Australia) were the best cricket team in my generation. Amongst them all, the greatest bowler that I played against, not only the greatest Australian bowler, but the greatest fast bowler (that) I played against has to be Glean McGrath," said Dravid, who was known for his impeccable defense, at an event here.

The right-handed batsman was in conversation with Link Group MD John McMurtie at the Link Lecture Series, which was launched here on Thursday night.

"He (McGrath) was absolutely (brilliant), no one challenged my knowledge of the off-stump as much as McGrath did. He was relentless and gave you nothing. A lot of times, whether he is bowling in first hour of the morning or late in the afternoon of in the evening, he (McGrath) was going to give you nothing, he was relentless (and the) accuracy," said Dravid, who scored a whopping 13288 runs in 164 Test matches.

Heaping praise on the legendary Australian fast bowler, Dravid said, "He was not mean as he looked, but he could be very very mean with the cricket ball because he gave you nothing. He was one of those guys you, while batting, think how to score a run and where is the extra-run going to come from. He just had that level of accuracy and control.

"He had good pace, bounce but a good game sense as well. McGrath was probably the greatest fast bowler I played against," said the former India captain, who has scored heavily against the Australians.

McGrath, regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game, had taken 563 wickets in 124 Tests and 381 wickets in 250 ODIs.
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http://www.financialexpress.com/spo...-faced-was-glenn-mcgrath-rahul-dravid/462310/
 
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One was the most consistent maintaining line and length and other one was the most consistent in blocking and making runs. One of the most consistent battle between bat and ball. Great duel.
 
A lot of times, whether he is bowling in first hour of the morning or late in the afternoon of in the evening, he (McGrath) was going to give you nothing, he was relentless (and the) accuracy," said Dravid
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This is the most important aspect of Mcgrath that stands out from the other other fast bowlers..

doesn't matter which time of the day, he would look like getting a wicket every ball.. whereas with other fast bowlers, you know if you play them out, tire them , you can score from them.. but this aint happening with mcgrath..
 
Macgrath ability to keep on bowling on off stump line was his great strength . he could bowl whole day there
 
Sachin rated McGrath the greatest fast fast bowler he faced some 5 years ago, and Sehwag said the same thing.
 
There was no batsman who could have the better of him. He had the better of every damn batsman throughout his career.
 
ShoonyaSifar said:
Mcgrath always won the battle.
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As a batsman you need to hit or block hundreds of balls to be successful over any bowler but you need only one ball to be successful over any batsman and that's why macgrath won the battle most times which is not surprise :D
 
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McGrath was relentless in testing batsmen so not surprised to see Dravid saying the same.
 
Convict said I think that he used to practice hitting tin cans in his childhood with tennis balls or something like that.

Thing is, he was relentless, because he worked more than the rest.

He was brilliant because he worked hard.
 
And some people think he was trundler and a one-trick pony.

I have never seen a more consistent bowler than McGrath. The guy knew how to bowl and take wickets in any format and in any conditions.

For me, he is the greatest fast bowler of all time in ODIs + Tests combined.
 
Don't know about greatest, but easily the most accurate and consistent bowler in history of cricket.

Tests, ODIs, home, away, top teams, minnows, flat pitch, green pitch, dustbowl etc. etc., he always performed. The word McGrath is a synonym to the word reliable.
 
Seems like a trend.

Ind bats don't say the best they faced was Wasim/Waqar/Shoaib.

And Pak bowlers also name Lara/Ponting and the likes.
 
Not suprised he said this. McGrath was a brilliant line and length bowler on most surfaces.
 
Hawkeye said:
Seems like a trend.

Ind bats don't say the best they faced was Wasim/Waqar/Shoaib.

And Pak bowlers also name Lara/Ponting and the likes.
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They didn't play enough against each other
 
Hawkeye said:
Seems like a trend.

Ind bats don't say the best they faced was Wasim/Waqar/Shoaib.

And Pak bowlers also name Lara/Ponting and the likes.
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Chrish said:
They didn't play enough against each other
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Akhtar played 10 tests against India out of 46 tests.

Waqar was not the same after 1994 and he played one series before that. Unless schedule like Ashes was present for India-Pakistan, there was not much chance to see both play again before the end of 1994. When PP talks about Waqar, only peak Waqar comes in mind for most posters, but his peak was over by the end of 1994.

Statement is true for Wasim.
 
Buffet said:
Akhtar played 10 tests against India out of 46 tests.

Waqar was not the same after 1994 and he played one series before that. Unless schedule like Ashes was present for India-Pakistan, there was not much chance to see both play again before the end of 1994. When PP talks about Waqar, only peak Waqar comes in mind for most posters, but his peak was over by the end of 1994.

Statement is true for Wasim.
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Statement is not true for Wasim either.

Donald or McGrath has to be the answer for most Indian batsman of the 80s or later era.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...6;spanval1=span;template=results;type=bowling
 
Hawkeye said:
Seems like a trend.

Ind bats don't say the best they faced was Wasim/Waqar/Shoaib.

And Pak bowlers also name Lara/Ponting and the likes.
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Didn't SRT say Wasim and Waqar was the best he faced?
 
ShoonyaSifar said:
Mcgrath always won the battle.
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No he didnt, only once did Mcgrath win the battle and that was the Tennis Elbow test series in 2004 where SRT was unfit. Prior to the tennis elbow test series in 2004, Mcgrath got SRT out 4 times total in 3 separate test series and SRT's avg was 47 odd in all series combined which had an Australian side with Mcgrath playing in it........ It was always a cat and mouse game, both were very stubborn was a very intense chess battle, a fully FIT SRT vs MCGRATH was a stalemate in tests..
 
Best quick I've seen. Apart from a game here and there no one got the better of him in either format. Unreal.
 
I recall the first couple of years of watching McGrath: this was a time when wasim waqar Ambrose bishop Walsh and Donald were still in the middle of their careers. And I couldn't figure out what the big deal was about him. I always thought at stage that he is a harmless up and down line and length bowler who the batsman should smash at will. He did not seem to posses by comparison, the steep bounce or the express pace or the reverse swing of any of the bowlers above. Frankly, considering I statrted watching from 92 onwards all the Aussie pacers seemed distinctly mediocre to me : we would beat their team at home and they would beat us at theirs. It took me (and I suspect the world) time to realize that McGrath possessed a different skill set which was never associated as a virtue for a paceman: accuracy and building pressure. Let's just say that in all the cricket literature that existed till that time frank Tyson, Lillee, Thommo would be thought of as fearsome fast snarling type bowlers. The fact that this slim bowler, with a measured pace, and mechanical delivery would be the greatest fast bowler of all time just ran counter to what crickets definition of a great fast bowler was, at that time. Indeed I must admit it feels odd to call him the greatest fast bowler. It just doesn't roll off my tongue: you know, like the idea of 'President Trump'. It sounds contrived.
 
Pete Rose said:
I recall the first couple of years of watching McGrath: this was a time when wasim waqar Ambrose bishop Walsh and Donald were still in the middle of their careers. And I couldn't figure out what the big deal was about him. I always thought at stage that he is a harmless up and down line and length bowler who the batsman should smash at will. He did not seem to posses by comparison, the steep bounce or the express pace or the reverse swing of any of the bowlers above. Frankly, considering I statrted watching from 92 onwards all the Aussie pacers seemed distinctly mediocre to me : we would beat their team at home and they would beat us at theirs. It took me (and I suspect the world) time to realize that McGrath possessed a different skill set which was never associated as a virtue for a paceman: accuracy and building pressure. Let's just say that in all the cricket literature that existed till that time frank Tyson, Lillee, Thommo would be thought of as fearsome fast snarling type bowlers. The fact that this slim bowler, with a measured pace, and mechanical delivery would be the greatest fast bowler of all time just ran counter to what crickets definition of a great fast bowler was, at that time. Indeed I must admit it feels odd to call him the greatest fast bowler. It just doesn't roll off my tongue: you know, like the idea of 'President Trump'. It sounds contrived.
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I couldn't have summed it up better. Yes, the numbers are there, he got like 500 people out but a bunch of us always felt he wasn't threatening. Never felt intimidating. The sort of bowler you will be consistent and nothing more. Almost predictable even.
But there he is, sitting on top of all fast bowler lists. All top batsmen calling him a nightmare.
Facts spell it out but we just can accept it. A medium pace line and length bowler :D who was more nagging than deadly.
 
Pete Rose said:
I recall the first couple of years of watching McGrath: this was a time when wasim waqar Ambrose bishop Walsh and Donald were still in the middle of their careers. And I couldn't figure out what the big deal was about him. I always thought at stage that he is a harmless up and down line and length bowler who the batsman should smash at will. He did not seem to posses by comparison, the steep bounce or the express pace or the reverse swing of any of the bowlers above. Frankly, considering I statrted watching from 92 onwards all the Aussie pacers seemed distinctly mediocre to me : we would beat their team at home and they would beat us at theirs. It took me (and I suspect the world) time to realize that McGrath possessed a different skill set which was never associated as a virtue for a paceman: accuracy and building pressure. Let's just say that in all the cricket literature that existed till that time frank Tyson, Lillee, Thommo would be thought of as fearsome fast snarling type bowlers. The fact that this slim bowler, with a measured pace, and mechanical delivery would be the greatest fast bowler of all time just ran counter to what crickets definition of a great fast bowler was, at that time. Indeed I must admit it feels odd to call him the greatest fast bowler. It just doesn't roll off my tongue: you know, like the idea of 'President Trump'. It sounds contrived.
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Couldn't have put it better.

I also think there is a lesson from McGrath to all of us. You dont need to be outrageously talented (I am not saying he was not talented, but his talent was nothing compared to what Lilliee, Thommo, Wasim, Waqar, Donald and countless other bowlers had) to become a great and to fulfil your dreams.

Loads of hard work, dedication and a great temperament can get to those heights. We mere mortals can dream too!
 
Sidilicious said:
Couldn't have put it better.

I also think there is a lesson from McGrath to all of us. You dont need to be outrageously talented (I am not saying he was not talented, but his talent was nothing compared to what Lilliee, Thommo, Wasim, Waqar, Donald and countless other bowlers had) to become a great and to fulfil your dreams.

Loads of hard work, dedication and a great temperament can get to those heights. We mere mortals can dream too!
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I would add though temperament is also a 'gift'. Much like every bowler cant be a Wasim or Holding..neither can every bowler be a McGrath - perhaps that's so obvious that stating it, might seem patronizing . I think he is certainly a type of role model for fast bowlers, but hopefully not the only role model. I am glad he came along though. This way you can have a variety of fast bowlers. Not everyone in the attack needs to fast and furious.
 
Many times I have seen McGrath been helped by some dreadful decisions.. Especially when the batsman was on top... He just knows how to appeal.
 
McGrath was a beast, he made Sachin look like Ashraful. Sachin was like Kohli of India so someone making a fool out of Kohli, that's something big. We don't have anyone who has figured out Kohli out.
 
He was doing an event in Australia, right? Makes sense to earn some extra brownie-points by naming McGrath as the best he's faced. No different to Australians naming Sachin as the best they've played against.

Regardless, McGrath was an outstanding bowler in terms of effectiveness.
 
Bilal7 said:
He was doing an event in Australia, right? Makes sense to earn some extra brownie-points by naming McGrath as the best he's faced. No different to Australians naming Sachin as the best they've played against.

Regardless, McGrath was an outstanding bowler in terms of effectiveness.
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Err no, the event happened in Mumbai.

Dravid is beyond manufacturing false statements to earn a few brownie points.
 
He had this rhythmic run up and programmed bowling action that helped him bowl like a robot. Ever noticed when things don't go right he scuffs up the ball vigorously and tries to bowl full inswinger with pin point accuracy. Fanie De villiers was one such bowler as well.
 
If I have to pick just one bowler to bowl for my life, I would pick McGrath. Have not seen a more reliable bowler than him.
 
McGrath is up there with regards to being one of the greatest ever bowlers, so it's no surprise that an ATG like Dravid would give him this title.
 
One area where McG was very strong was in the mental side. He would visualise where he was going to put the ball, not six balls in advance like Hadley, but twelve. He would look to set a batter up that far in advance.

The only England batters I saw get the better of him were Vaughan and Pietersen, and then not consistently.
 
Lillee says he often wonders how many more test wickets he would have had, if he had been a machine-like bowler like Hadlee and McGrath, instead of trying for a wicket-taking ball every time.
 
McGrath was no doubt class. I have never seen a bowler who gets so many batsmen to edge it to slip or keeper. This showed is immaculate line and length. When a batsman of Rahul's quality speaks then you have to listen. Also, McGrath compared to most others bowlers of his time did not give away so many runs. Other greats like Akram were often ripped to pieces.
 
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