The significance of MRF Pace Foundation as a feeder to the National team needn’t be overstated. Its chief coach Senthilnathan shared an interesting piece of information: Two Foundation boys, Karnataka’s M. Venkatesh and Delhi’s Shaurya Malik, had the opportunity to go and bowl at Australia’s preparatory camp for the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane. He’s also excited about a “very raw, pacy” bowler from Bihar who’s got a “sort of a mixed action.”
Who better than the pace-loving Glenn McGrath, the Director of Coaching at the Foundation, to fine-tune them? “I may not have been the quickest bowler going around, but I like to see guys bowling at top pace!” he said in the Press interaction at the Foundation ground in the Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School at Chetpet on Monday. He also said: “If I could bowl a 100 mile an hour, I would have been bowling a 100 mile an hour!”
Excerpts:
On the Cameron Green catch to dismiss Shubman Gill in the second innings of the WTC final: “I think most of those catches are out. We find ways to give it not out which I like to go the other way. So, I was happy with it. And if it was India taking that catch, I would have been happy too. I’m not just saying from an Australian perspective, but that’s the way it goes.”
As Senthilnathan adds tongue-in-cheek, “(He’s saying that) from the perspective of a bowler,” McGrath playfully responds: “I’m a bowler, everyone’s out!”
On Scott Boland: “I’m a big fan. I like the way he goes about it. He’s strong and can bowl all day. He just bowls good areas and just does enough with the ball off the pitch and gets that bounce. He’s especially done well in Australian conditions, but the English conditions should really suit him.
“The pitch at the Oval (for the WTC final), I think normally English pitches do a little bit more than that which would probably suit him even more. The areas he bowls, I think he’s gonna be very effective in England!”
On Boland getting compared to him: “I guess that’s a nice compliment to me. Hopefully, he takes it as a compliment. But he’s different in his own way. Where the similarity is, bowl good areas, get a bit of movement, bit of bounce just off that area, that spot that the batsman doesn’t like. He’s got great control. And just does enough to find the edge. You don’t wanna do too much, just enough, and he can bowl there all day. So, that comparison, it’s nice. But obviously he’s his own bowler. And he’s done exceptionally well.”
On India’s capitulation in the WTC final: “Sometimes, it can happen like that. Conditions in England are a lot different to what Indian cricket has been playing in. It’s called dressing room pressure. I know both teams haven’t played a lot of Test cricket lately, but that’s the way it goes. You get on a bit of a roll. Going into that last day, they still had Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane at the crease. Those two needed to put on a big partnership. You lose an early wicket, that can happen. So, yeah, it’s a one-off Test match. I wouldn’t be too concerned.”
On Ashes and Bazball: “I think it was a perfect lead-up (WTC final win) for Australia into the Ashes, gives them a lot of confidence (in general), and (confidence) to play in the conditions. So, I think they are in a good spot.
“England, there’s a lot of talk about Bazball, and I’m a big fan. I like backing yourself, going out there, and being positive. I think playing against Australia is going to be a different kettle of fish because they’ve got a quality bowling attack. Lesser bowling attacks, Bazball’s very effective. So, it’s gonna be interesting to see how they go. I think the first Test match is incredibly important. Whoever gets off to a good start, I think they can carry a bit of momentum.
“It’s gonna be great series. Each Test match I think is gonna go right down to the wire with Australia winning each Test match. So, my prediction is 5-nil (tongue-in-cheek)!”
Former Australian pace bowling legend Glenn McGrath at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. | Photo Credit: RAGU R
On whether Bazball would catch up and be the norm in Test cricket going forward: “It’s going to be interesting. I like to think so. They have taken it to the next level. To score along at 4-5 runs an over is being quite aggressive, but to score at 6-7 runs an over is taking it to the next level! If they can maintain that and even after a couple of losses or even a couple of bad losses... That’s the way they are looking to play and they are giving their players that licence to go out and do it. And I actually don’t mind it.
“Whether T20 cricket has had an impact, or that match against Australia at Headingley last time where Stokes just backed himself, whether that led to where it is, or whether Brendon McCullum coming in and Ben Stokes being the captain... I would like to see other teams adopt that because Test cricket to me is still the ultimate. And we wanna see good positive intent to keep bringing crowds to the ground. So, if it works, and it’s exciting and great to watch, then it’s (a) brand. We have to keep Test cricket alive and I think that’s one of the ways to do it.
“So, I would like to think other teams, whether they have the capability to do that, but at least sort of increase scoring rates, put the pressure back on to the bowlers, and yeah, just to see, like, bit more exciting matches would be I think is one way to keep Test cricket alive and well.”
On Pat Cummins the pace-bowler doing well as captain: “I always felt fast-bowlers could captain the team. They are obviously the smartest ones in the team (tongue-in-cheek)! But I just felt that when you’re bowling, you need to focus a hundred per cent on your bowling. That’s why batsmen have always done it (captaincy) in the past as well. You might as well give them something to do in the field rather than switch off.
“But I think, if you look, you have Pat Cummins who’s done a great job, we had Courtney (Walsh), Shaun Pollock, Kapil Dev, Wasim (Akram)... So, those guys have always done well. But I just think it’s the nature of the beast. When batsmen are batting, they can focus a hundred per cent on their batting.
“Bowlers, when they are bowling, have to focus a hundred per cent. And if you are the captain and you’re thinking about who’s bowling next, where the game’s going, all these different things, you have to find a way to concentrate a hundred per cent. I think Pat Cummins has got it right, where he hands the captaincy over to Steve Smith while he’s bowling.
“And that’s the tough side of fast bowlers being captain. And that’s why I’ve never had an issue with batsmen captaining over a bowler in the past.”
Former Australian pace bowling legend Glenn McGrath at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. | Photo Credit: RAGU R
On WTC final being a one-off, its scheduling, and the decision of its venue: “It’s interesting. Depends on (ICC) scheduling and sort of whether you say whoever is top of the table gets a home game. But again it depends on the season. I’m happy with a one-off, because I think to play three Tests, you’re gonna find it tough to get it into this scheduling, especially with the IPL the way it is now and the other tournaments. They are doing well to get the Test schedule as it is, so a one-off is fine. If it’s in England, I’m happy with that. But we’ll see what the future holds.”
On Australia having always had great fielders in the slip cordon: “Australia’s always lucky in that respect when you look at the catchers that we had. Mark Taylor, Mark Waugh, incredible, Ricky Ponting, incredible, Warney, yeah, we’ve been very lucky with the fieldsmen we’ve had.
“Steve Smith’s got great hands. Cameron Green’s the one that really surprised me. For a guy who’s 6 (feet) 7 (inches) plus, he just gets down so well, and he moves so well. And yeah, to have a guy like that in the gully, you can actually cover a lot more ground than say a little fella.
“So, yeah, Australia is very lucky to have that. But it’s also the standard I think Australian cricket’s always set themselves. Even when we played, the main difference was our catching half the time.”
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