Test of Will

by Glenn McGrath

  He was given a taste of international cricket as a member of the Australian one-day team at 19 but unfortunately he was sidelined, suffering from stress fractures and other strains. From what I understand he’s come through all of that with an approach that nothing is going to stop him from getting to where he wants to be, and I applaud that. While his early progress was frustrated by those injuries, I’m sure that (like the smart blokes) Josh would fully appreciate that it took a lot of hard work for him to make the Australian team and now he has his baggy green cap in his kit bag, it’s going to take a lot of hard work to stay there. I believe he has a lot of things in his favour. He has a simple action, he’s tall (196 centimetres), he can get the ball through well, and he swings the ball; and the reason I’m happy with what I see is there doesn’t seem too much that can go wrong.

  I also view Hazlewood as a bowler who’ll always hit good areas, and if he can build up pressure with whoever it is he’s bowling in tandem with, at the other end, he’ll take plenty of wickets. He started his Test career with a boom—he took 34 wickets in seven Tests at an average 19.94—and I’d say as long as he stays focused and works hard, he’ll be just fine.

  Something else I like about the boy from Bendemeer in the New England region of New South Wales is that I can see he has a quiet belief in himself, and he seems to have worked his game out. It’s obvious he has a simple approach. By now it should not be a shock to anyone that I’m a huge fan of a fast bowler keeping his game as simple as possible because that means he won’t have to undergo too much change or a complete revamp to unravel any problems.

  THE SOUTH AFRICANS

  Fanie de Villiers was aggressive, but I can’t really think of too many openly aggressive fast bowlers from South Africa who you’d say were from the same mould as Brett Lee. A typical South African cricketer is seen by many of his opponents as stoic, disciplined and competitive—they play hard and enjoy the contest—but I believe that Australia’s cricketers differ to their South African counterparts in that they’re prepared to back themselves. The Aussies don’t have what you’d call that fear of losing, and I’m afraid that’s what has held the Proteas back over the years. However, they do boast great bowlers and the three I’ve picked are all ranked in the ICC’s top 20 pace bowlers. They are also the reason why in recent years South Africa has had the world’s most dominant attack.

  Dale Steyn (S/R: 41.5)

  He’s ranked No. 1 in the world and has held that mantle for quite some time. He’s a quality bowler. At the time of writing this book, he’d played in 78 Tests and taken 396 wickets, and his strike rate of 41.6 is right up there with the best of all time. I think that says a lot about Steyn as a bowler and competitor.

  I really appreciate that he exudes that never-give-up attitude you want in a spearhead; he runs in hard all day long; he’ll bowl all day if need be; and he can swing the ball. He goes about his business in a quieter manner than most—he doesn’t ‘chat’ all that much to the batsmen—and he gives the impression that for him cricket is simply a matter of getting on with the job. That seems to have been the Steyn way for quite a long time. Mitchell Johnson challenged him for the No. 1 crown previously and he might again, although I have a feeling Mitchell Starc could be the next cab off that rank.

  Steyn is not as tall as most other pace bowlers, but he’s definitely found ways of taking wickets by utilising his pace, by swinging the ball and bowling to good areas. Indeed, he became the fastest South African—and the 15th fastest in world cricket—to reach 100 Test wickets, and the way he’s built on that reinforces my belief that he’s worked out his role in the Proteas system. The 32-year-old realised you need to take wickets but even more importantly understood that a fast bowler needs to find ways and means to achieve that. A fast bowler has the most physical part in the game—he leads from the front—but Steyn isn’t your typical aggressive, in-your-face type of bowler. I view him as being in the mould of the great West Indian Michael Holding, who would refuse to bowl at all rather than dig a short one in at a tail-ender. There’ll be those people who’ll suggest that, just as Holding did 30 years ago, Steyn is doing his bit to prove to younger cricketers that cursing and over-the-top aggressiveness isn’t a prerequisite to being effective. However, he definitely doesn’t lack fire. He made everyone sit up and take notice when he took 10 wickets in the opening Test at Johannesburg against the Kiwis in 2007–08, and I think batsmen realised he was to be respected when one of his short deliveries unfortunately sent the New Zealand batsman Craig Cumming to intensive care.

  He’s still ranked highly in the one-day game, but from what I’ve observed Steyn seems to have the same game plan for both formats, and I’m not so sure if that’s the best path to follow in one-day cricket. He doesn’t bowl all that many yorkers or too many slower balls, either, so that suggests he has one speed—literally—of going about things. As I’ve already said, Dale Steyn’s strike rate of 41.6 is incredible. That’s over five wickets a Test, so regardless of my observations on his approach to the limited-overs game, it’s still very hard to fault him. He definitely deserves the title of a champion bowler.

  Vernon Philander (S/R: 47.9)

  He needed only seven matches to take 50 wickets, making him the second-fastest player in Test history to reach that milestone. There’re a number of reasons why I praise Philander for doing as well as he has in his career so far.

  Firstly, he’s kept it quite simple: he doesn’t bowl express pace; he swings the ball just enough; he seems to get a bit of seam movement; he attacks the stumps relentlessly; but above all he strikes me as an intelligent bowler who bowls to the areas he knows a batsman doesn’t like, and he has the ability to nip the ball around.

  Philander has found a way to take (at the time of writing this book) 121 wickets in 29 Tests—and at a strike rate of 47. I like that he’s replicated the success he’s so far enjoyed at Test level in the one-day arena, and I attribute a lot of his success to the simplicity he utilises to bowl good areas and to extract just enough movement to trouble the batsmen.

  The Australian team that toured South Africa in 2011 were the first to get a taste of what the now 30-year-old had to offer. He won the Man of the Match in his Test debut after taking 8–78, and then took a second innings haul of 5–15 to spearhead the home team to a stunning victory in Cape Town. He followed up that performance with another five-for in the Second Test to secure him a well-deserved Man of the Series medal.

  Morne Morkle (S/R: 56.2)

  Morkle was identified by Allan Donald as something special a decade ago—Allan, nicknamed ‘White Lightning’, was impressed by the bounce and pace Morkle could extract as a result of his height (he’s 196 centimetres tall). Though he’s been living in the slipstream of Steyn and Philander for a long time, that hasn’t stopped him from being effective. Indeed, I think there’s an argument that his bounce complements what that pair brings to the table, and it rounds out what’s been the world’s most formidable attack for a few years.

  I like to see that Morkle works very hard to bowl at good areas. That effort was rewarded during the 2015 World Cup jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, when he assumed the lead role of the attack and his 17 wickets allowed him to finish as the tournament’s fourth-highest wicket-taker behind Starc, Trent Boult and Umesh Yadav. He also took six more wickets—at a better average and strike rate—than Steyn. Perhaps that World Cup might be his springboard to even better things for the Proteas from here on in.

  I’d like to see more yorkers from Morkle in the limited-overs format because he can execute them well when he wants to. If he needs proof of their impact he only needs to see what they’ve done for Starc’s wicket-taking ability in the white-ball game: they’ve propelled him to the head of the pack.

  Morkle has his idiosyncrasies, especially at the top of his run-up. While most fast bowlers will stop and settle themselves before they commence their run-up, he prefers to do a little turn and then charges straight in to bowl. While it’s diff
erent, I’m not going to say he should do this or he should do that, because he has obviously worked out what’s good for him. I think his style only serves to highlight that cricket is about routine and what works for the individual.

  THE NEW ZEALANDERS

  The Kiwis have always had willing fast men but injuries seem to plunder their reserves of talent and it’s obviously been the cause of great frustration for them over the years. I can remember watching Sir Richard Hadlee, the man regarded as New Zealand’s greatest cricketer, on the television and, apart from being a great competitor who carried the hopes of his nation on his shoulders, in my eyes he seemed to be the complete fast bowler. Over the years we’ve seen the likes of Dion Nash, Simon Doull, Ewen Chatfield, Chris Martin, Shane Bond and Danny Morrison compete hard and well for their country. However, I think the partnership we saw between Tim Southee and Trent Boult during their charge to the 2015 World Cup final was one of the most exciting in recent times for our cousins across the Tasman Sea. I’ll be watching their progress keenly because I think they could spearhead the Black Caps to greater heights.

  Tim Southee (S/R: 62.1) and Trent Boult (S/R: 56.8)

  I think it is safe to say both these players have come of age and I was impressed by some of the spells I saw this pair bowl during the 2015 World Cup. Southee has played 41 Tests and taken 144 wickets, and with more Test matches under his belt he will only continue to improve. As a bowler who can swing the ball, Southee steps up to another level on any deck that offers swing. And one of the most exciting things he has going for him is his age—he’s only 25.

  I heard a lot of people pay tribute to Brendon McCullum during the World Cup. It was certainly well deserved because he backed up his captaincy with some great knocks, but make no mistake about the contribution Southee and Boult made to their team getting to the final. It was sensational. New Zealand has unearthed two quality fast bowlers who should help make a difference in the years to come. They’re going to grow together and they’ve already formed a great partnership, with Southee the right-armer and Boult the left-armer and both enjoying good control. As is the case with the top performers, they bowl to good areas and both get the ball through quite well.

  Boult, who has taken 123 wickets from his 32 Tests, has the ability to swing the ball and we saw how effective he was—the second most successful bowler behind Starc at the World Cup. Both Southee and Boult have a lot of cricket in them, and something they’ll benefit from is the Kiwi approach to the game: they enjoy themselves and they back themselves. A fast bowler needs that attitude, but he also needs to foster it in the rest of his teammates because these qualities are the things that can make the difference. I view these two as quality bowlers. There is nothing flamboyant about either of them. They work very well together and, just as importantly, I love that they have a go!

  THE INDIANS

  The subcontinent is perhaps the toughest place on earth for anyone with an aspiration to be a fast bowler. The wickets are dead and are much better suited to the spinners. It’s hot and it’s bone dry, and most days it feels as though your feet are pounding into a concrete slab. However, I am finding in my role at the MRF that there are hundreds upon hundreds of local boys with the courage to put their hands up, because they have the dream to be the X-factor for their national team, just as the great Kapil Dev was. I don’t use the word ‘courage’ lightly—those young men are volunteering to commit themselves to a tough life in unforgiving conditions, and I admire the enthusiasm in which they want to embrace the role. I have worked with quite a few high-calibre fast bowlers coming through the Indian system, and if we can get it right, it will make the Indians an even more formidable outfit.

  Umesh Yadav (S/R: 53.6) and Varun Aaron (S/R: 66.8)

  Neither had played a lot of Test cricket at the time of writing this book, but they both have the ability to bowl at 150 km/h. Yadav has taken 43 wickets in his 13 Tests, and that suggests he definitely has a lot of potential. I certainly wouldn’t like to see that raw pace he possesses stifled in any way, because if he can continue to generate that pace he’ll be a wicket-taker. As I said, the wickets in India aren’t conducive for fast bowling: the harder you hit the deck, the slower it comes off. To be successful on the subcontinent you need to be a quality player, just like Kapil Dev was (although he was more a fast-medium-paced bowler who could swing the ball beautifully). The two young guys have the firepower to become genuine forces, so I’m hopeful they’ll be used in the right way, because both of them provide India with a strong base to build on.

  It’s important to find ways to take wickets in India. I tried to take them with each new ball, because when it gets older you work on it for reverse swing, and that’s a trait you need to have on the subcontinent. Like Yadav, Aaron has good control. This pair is improving; they have a great attitude and I have no doubt at all that they have it in them to go a long way.

  Ishant Sharma (S/R: 65.2)

  He’s been around since 2007 and started out of the blocks at a million miles an hour. However, Sharma went through what I imagine was a frustrating patch where he didn’t play as well as he probably would’ve liked. Whether that was because he excelled overseas but found returning to India’s conditions a tough ask, I really don’t know. He’s still there though: he’s played 62 Tests and taken 187 wickets. I think he’s done very well for India. As I have said a few times now, to run in on those flat wickets and defy the heat and the humidity isn’t easy: you need to be a lot fitter and stronger to do that in India than in other countries. Sharma is only 26, so he has plenty of time and should have many more opportunities to add to his wicket tally. Something I have noticed about him is that if the selectors put him under scrutiny—particularly if there’s the risk he might lose his place in the team—he invariably responds by taking wickets.

  THE PAKISTANIS

  While India has struggled to find a pool of pacemen, across the border in Pakistan they’re coming out of the woodwork and on their day, they’re lethal. If you cast your mind back, Imran Khan, Sarfraz Nawaz, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were all quality bowlers who provided Pakistan with clout. And the many others who have followed—such as Umar Gul, the explosive Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif—have always made it seem that no matter what the state of play might be in Pakistan—involving controversies, revolts or scandals—it is a nation that has the ability to produce quality pacemen. In my role with the MRF Pace Foundation, I would love to find the key to unlock that in India. I’ve heard someone say that perhaps the first step will be to instil the attitude the young Pakistani pacemen have into their Indian counterparts—the love of knocking the stumps out of the ground with a fireball.

  Wahab Riaz (S/R: 56.9)

  He’s only played 12 Tests and taken 35 wickets, but I was impressed by both the potential and the fire this player showed against Australia in Adelaide during the World Cup where he played with great aggression and good pace. I liked that he had the batsmen jumping around and dancing to his tune. He had skipper Michael Clarke caught off a short ball. He should also have had Shane Watson caught off a short ball but the fieldsman fluffed a straightforward opportunity. It was a really tough period for the batsmen, and while I think Riaz showed a bit of inexperience, he’ll definitely be better for that hit out. It’s important that Riaz keeps learning. What I thought was encouraging was the fact that he got aggressive and he bowled short. But what let him down was that he didn’t really adjust when Australia got on top. I was also disappointed that he was fined by the ICC after that match for his well-publicised run-in with Watson. Their duel was compelling viewing and highlighted both the intensity of the match and the fact that it mattered. I thought it was ridiculous to punish passion.

  Mohammad Irfan (S/R: 71.2)

  I haven’t seen Mohammad bowl ‘live’ but he is 216 centimetres tall, and while he’s only played in four Tests I think it’s safe for me to suggest that if anyone is going to get pace and bounce out of the wicket, he should be the man! He might not be as
coordinated as other fast bowlers, but if he can stay fit and well, his height alone should ensure he’ll enjoy some success. I don’t know how many injuries he’s suffered during the course of his career—he’s 33 and has been used more regularly by the Pakistan selectors in one-day internationals than he has Tests—but I’d imagine his pace and swing will be unique, and I am sure he has plenty of people in his ear advising him to use his height to his advantage.

  THE WEST INDIANS

  The West Indians were once the most feared pace bowlers on the planet, and over the years names such as Wes Hall, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Courtney Walsh, Malcolm Marshall, Andy Roberts and Curtly Ambrose were enough to strike fear into the hearts of even the bravest of batsmen. No one understands where it went wrong, but there are plenty of theories in the Caribbean for the great demise: the rise in popularity of American sports such as basketball; the lack of amenities to encourage and foster talent; internal politics that have taken a terrible toll; and the fact that they haven’t been winning too many matches, let alone series, over the last 20 years, resulting in kids losing interest in cricket. There’re a few bright lights on the Windies pace scene. I think Jason Holder, at 201 centimetres, might be the lightning rod the Windies crave to encourage more kids to bowl fast, while Kemar Roach is also dangerous on his day. However, at the moment, the West Indians are living off past glories from 30–40 years ago. The champion batsman Brian Lara put me in the picture when he was in Australia working as a commentator during the World Cup. He pointed out that we were at an advantage by having a cricket academy because they don’t have one in the West Indies. I don’t understand how that has been tolerated by the authorities. I want to see them receive assistance from the ICC and other nations to improve. I believe the West Indians can rise to be a great cricketing empire again but it will take a concerted effort by the ICC to achieve that. It’ll take a lot of commitment, hard work and cash, but it would be worth the investment and would definitely be to the game’s advantage. Because when the Windies were at their peak in the 1970s and ’80s, cricket fans around the world would flock to watch them—there was an insatiable appetite for Calypso cricket.