Sydney, Jan 4: Glenn McGrath, one of the greatest fast bowlers of his era, counts the great Sachin Tendulkar amongst his most frequent dismissals. Before play began on Day 2 at the SCG, the former pace superstar expressed his willingness to guide the young Indian bowlers who are part of the current tour.
Excerpts:
On India’s young pace bowlers
I have seen the young guys coming through, saying they want to bowl like me, but I think at the end of the day they’ve got to do what works for them. If my talking to them about anything I did when I was playing can help out, then I think that’s great. [Ishant] Sharma’s has been bowling well; I have got a lot of time for him. I think he’s a quality bowler. [Umesh] Yadav started off well, he looks, he runs in, [he] bowls [at a] good pace [and] generally hits pretty good areas. So they are not too bad at the moment.
On Sachin Tendulkar
[It is] such an incredible thing that Sachin’s still playing [even] now. He is just a class player; [I have] so much respect for him. I would like to see him get his hundredth hundred maybe the first Test after this series is finished. He is one of the all-time greats and to think that he is still playing now, [and has scored] so many Test runs – nobody will ever catch him. When he gets the hundredth hundred in [international] cricket it will be something very special.
On Indian players taking time to adjust in Australia
When Indian cricketers come to Australia and play in Australian conditions, it’s so different than [it is] back home. The wickets in India are fairly true, they come through nicely, you can hit through the line. The wickets we have here [have] a little bit more bounce and little more grass so that you get sideways movement as well as bounce. So it always takes a little while to adjust. Quality players like your [Rahul] Dravids, your Tendulkars, do adjust.
