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| October 16, 2002 | Wednesday | Sha’aban 9, 1423 |
McGrath 4 wickets away from 400 club
SHARJAH (UAE), Oct 15: Australia’s premier fast bowler Glenn McGrath will have an added spring in his step when he takes the field in Saturday’s final Test against Pakistan here.
McGrath needs just four wickets to join team-mate Shane Warne as the only Australians in the exclusive 400-wicket club, a feat he hopes to achieve in quick time against the Pakistanis.
“It’s been there on my mind for sometime, and it will be nice to get there in this Test itself,” the 32-year-old said here Tuesday.
“Getting to 400 will be a very amazing achievement, I will be a very proud man when I get there.”
The 86-Test veteran hoped the milestone will inspire him to touch the 500-wicket mark, a feat achieved so far only by world record holder Courtney Walsh of the West Indies, who retired last season with 519 wickets.
“That’s been my aim for some time, getting to 500,” McGrath said. “Hopefully the body will hold up till then.
“I work very hard off the field, the body feels pretty ood. And I am quite motivated to play for Australia.
“I have always been a wicket-taker. The main motivation is to take wickets.”
Unlike Pakistani all-rounder Wasim Akram, who has stayed away from Test cricket to keep fit for next year’s limited-overs World Cup, McGrath still enjoys both forms of the game.
“I just love to play for Australia, whether it is Tests or One-day Internationals,” he said.
“The only tough thing is to be away from the family for so long.”
McGrath, who has over 250 one-day wickets, shortened his run-up during the one-day series in Kenya in September, but went back to his original mark in the first two Tests against Pakistan.
Leg-spinner Warne may have dominated the series so far with 19 wickets in two Tests — taking his overall tally to 469 — but McGrath’s contribution has been invaluable.—AFP
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