McGrath: We play our cricket with a lot of passion

"We say a few things on the field but all is forgotten as we walk off it. It’s a part of Australian culture," says the former pace ace.

Students take a selfie with former Australian cricketer Glenn McGrath at the Madras School of Economics.

“I have been sledged by Sachin Tendulkar,” revealed McGrath while speaking on the issue on the Australians’ on-field behaviour.

He said, “Every team in the world sledges. But when the Aussies do it, it makes news. When the other teams sledge against us, we keep quiet. The moment, the Australians are at it, the others are quick to complain.”

McGrath said, “The Australian way is very upfront. We play our cricket with a lot of passion. We say a few things on the field but all is forgotten as we walk off it. It’s a part of Australian culture.”

The Aussie pace legend said Steve Waugh, during his time, had devised a new term for sledging. “He called it gamesmanship.”

Asked on the biggest sledger in the Australian team, McGrath said, “Mathew Hayden was probably the worst. But he was nicely hidden fielding at gully.”