Glenn McGrath accepts he has been supplanted as the leading fast bowler in Australia by Jason Gillespie.
Captain Steve Waugh dubbed Gillespie ”the best quick bowler in the world at the moment” after Australia’s innings and 98-run win over Bangladesh here on Monday to take the series 2-0.
Waugh said it was not automatic that McGrath would be given the privilege of bowling downwind with the new ball.
”Jason will bowl more down breeze in the future — it’s about time we shared that around,” Waugh said.
”He’s probably the best quick bowler in the world at the moment and he deserves to bowl down breeze.”
McGrath at 33, five years older than Gillespie, on Tuesday accepted the changing of the guard.
”Jason, if anyone, has been unlucky in the past,” McGrath said.
”It was only a matter of time before he started to take wickets so with the three of us there I can’t see why we shouldn’t be rotated according to circumstances. I’m comfortable with that.”
McGrath even forecast the change at the start of the Ashes series against England last summer when he said: ”I think he [Gillespie] has probably been the pick of our bowlers for quite some time without the success … but if he keeps going as well as he has been he’ll take plenty of wickets, so it’s good for the future of Australian cricket.”
Gillespie was the pick of the pacemen in Australia’s victory over Bangladesh here.
He wrapped up the match with a spurt of 3-3 in eight balls when Waugh gave him a rare chance to bowl with the aid of stiff breeze — until then the domain of McGrath and Brett Lee.
Gillespie finished the series with 11 wickets at an average of 15,45 while McGrath took five at 24,86.
McGrath has been the undisputed Australian number one pace bowler since the retirement of Craig McDermott.
But he hasn’t been in top form this year.
He missed the last Test of the Ashes series with injury and skipped the start of the West Indies tour when he flew home to be with his wife Jane when she was diagnosed with cancer.
Since then he’s taken just eight wickets in four Tests — well down his average of 4,5 wickets per Test.
Over his past 10 Tests he’s taken 37 wickets.
Gillespie, so often unlucky with injuries and unrewarded for the brilliance of his bowling, has been on the rise in the same period, taking 45 wickets in his past 10 Tests compared to a career average of 3,86 wickets per Test.
Waugh said McGrath, who should play his 100th Test this summer, would continue to have his support for the time being.
”There’s no real pecking order any more. Glenn is still the guy who’ll get the ball first-up but there’s no reason Jason or Brett couldn’t do the job as well,” Waugh said. – Sapa-AFP