McGrath passes Walsh’s Test record for fast bowlers

SYDNEY—Although Glenn McGrath may have given up on beating leg spinner Shane Warne’s world record for test wickets, the lanky Australian has the consolation of being the most successful fast bowler of all time.
McGrath went past West Indian Courtney Walsh’s record for a paceman when he collected two World XI wickets on the second day of the ICC super test on Saturday.
“It is a big honour because Courtney was a cricketer that I looked up to and admired,” McGrath told reporters.
“(He was) a freak of a player who competed for 21 years straight without hardly taking a break”.
McGrath equalled Walsh’s total of 519 test victims by dismissing India’s new captain Rahul Dravid for a duck before claiming the record outright by trapping Brian Lara lbw for five.
Australia were 66 for one in their second innings at the close, a lead of 221 runs.
Lara also featured in another of the Australian paceman’s career highlights when he was among a trio of West Indian victims in his only test hat-trick.
McGrath’s double strike moved him past Walsh into third place on the all-time wicket-takers list.
But he is 106 behind team mate Warne, who bagged three scalps on Saturday, and 45 adrift of Sri Lanka off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.
At 35 and with injuries starting to creep up on him, McGrath said he had no hope of catching the two men in front of him, but he was eyeing another milestone.
“I can’t see myself catching the next two but without doubt my next goal is to reach 600 test wickets,” he said.
McGrath is not the quickest bowler in the game but his unerring accuracy has made him the most dangerous quickie of his generation and there is little he has not achieved, including a test 50 as a batsman last season.
Despite his advancing years, he remains the spearhead of Australia’s attack. He took his 500th wicket and was named man of the match in the first Ashes test at Lord’s this year.
Australia won that game to take a 1-0 lead in the series but injuries prevented him playing in the second and fourth tests.
England won those two matches to take the series 2-1.—Agencies