Australian pace legend Glenn McGrath, the Director of Coaching at the MRF Pace Foundation, shared his views on a variety of subjects in an exclusive chat with The Hindu here on Tuesday.
The ICC’s decision against Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal has sent shock waves in the cricketing community…
The ICC is doing the right thing. In cricket, you have to bowl with a straight arm, not throw. It evens the field. Cricketers with illegal actions held an advantage over bowlers with clean actions. It does. If you have a kink in your arm, you can get a little more power or a little more spin which can make all the difference.
Do the umpires need to be empowered more, like being able to `call’ during a match?
It always started from the umpires but now they report a bowler rather than `call’ him during a match. It do feel the umpires, if they are confident, should be able to `call’ a bowler, if they are convinced about the illegality.
Are you a supporter of the 15 degree flexion rule?
Fifteen degrees…well no one bowls with a perfectly straight action because there is just a little bit flexion, the hyper extension each time you bowl…it is the nature of the beast. But I think you can tell whether someone is bowling with a clean action or an illegal one with the naked eye.
Bowlers bowl different in laboratory and in match situations…
It’s up to the ICC. I’ve never bowled in a lab. In the heat of the battle, when the adrenaline is pumping, your action can get found out. The penalties, rightly, are getting bigger and bigger.
Do you believe we need to have cameras in and around the dressing room after the James Anderson-Ravindra Jadeja spat in the India-England Test series?
There was possibly one incident like this in probably 100 years of cricket. I don’t think there should be cameras in the dressing rooms or the hallways because this would suggest that you don’t trust the players. The ICC, the match referee and the umpires have to handle the situation.
That was a big turning point in the Test series. England really steeled themselves and came together as a team. The Indians may have let the incident affect them. England got better and better, India got worse. As soon as you walk on the field, you have to forget everything that happened off it. If you let the off-field stuff affect the on-field performances, then you will lose focus.
You also don’t want to lose characters in the game…
Do you want to kill emotions, aggression, emotion and spirit? If we do that, it’s the game’s loss. You want to see that the guy out there is trying his best. When it becomes personal, when it crosses the line, it should be pulled in line very quickly by the captains and the officials.
What are the key ingredients of pace bowling?
Clear mind, good game plan, execution. You got to have a body and an action that can sustain your speed. Control is the key across formats. Keep it simple, don’t try too many things.
Do you believe in Mankading?
It gives an advantage to batsmen in the shorter format than in the longer one where the non-striker can get run-out if the batsman drives straight. The risk isn’t worth it. I would warn him, not run him out.
Are you still convinced by the DRS?
When DRS first came about, I thought this was going to take howlers out. But it is not being used for the reason it was designed. It is now used as a weapon. You can win or lose the game, solely on the way you use the DRS. Now I agree with the Indians.
Does the prospect of day/night cricket excite you?
I used to believe there was a potential for them. Now my views are different because the conditions can change dramatically between day and night. I don’t think the pink ball is up to the standard too. As it gets darker, the pink ball is harder to see.
You once complained that the young pacemen are not putting in enough work these days..
The art of bowling yorkers, we are losing it. The bowlers don’t practice enough these days to bowl perfect yorkers so they are mixing it up. Discipline may be lacking. I don’t think they are working hard on a certain thing. There is no real off-season anymore so you cannot get strong. You have to practice bowling yorkers in the nets and do it without bowling no balls.
You are thrilled by MRF Pace Foundation’s association with the BCCI…
Both can offer each other a lot of things. It’s full of possibilities.
