Some of his best centuries have come against the mighty Australian attack which comprised a battery of fearsome pacers, but batting legend Rahul Dravid admitted that the greatest fast bowler he had faced was Aussie Glenn McGrath.
“They (Australia) were the best cricket team in my generation. Amongst them all, the greatest bowler that I played against, not only the greatest Australian bowler, but the greatest fast bowler (that) I played against has to be Glean McGrath,” said Dravid, who was known for his impeccable defense, at an event here.
The right-handed batsman was in conversation with Link Group MD John McMurtie at the Link Lecture Series, which was launched here last night.
“He (McGrath) was absolutely (brilliant), no one challenged my knowledge of the off-stump as much as McGrath did. He was relentless and gave you nothing. A lot of times, whether he is bowling in first hour of the morning or late in the afternoon of in the evening, he (McGrath) was going to give you nothing, he was relentless (and the) accuracy,” said Dravid, who scored a whopping 13288 runs in 164 Test matches.
Heaping praise on the legendary Australian fast bowler, Dravid said, “He was not mean as he looked, but he could be very very mean with the cricket ball because he gave you nothing. He was one of those guys you, while batting, think how to score a run and where is the extra-run going to come from. He just had that level of accuracy and control.
“He had good pace, bounce but a good game sense as well.”
“McGrath was probably the greatest fast bowler I played against,” said the former India captain, who has scored heavily against the Australians.
McGrath, regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game, had taken 563 wickets in 124 Tests and 381 wickets in 250 ODIs.