Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Having talked the talk, volatile Team India pacer S Sreesanth now needs to back up his aggression with performance and prove his worth, said Australia8217;s former spearhead Glenn McGrath.
Though no more part of the team, McGrath keenly followed Australia8217;s just-concluded one day series against India, which saw heated altercations with Sreesanth featuring in quite a few of them. McGrath said it was high time the youngster delivered the goods with the ball.
8220;At the end of the day you8217;ve got to be able to back it up. You can talk the talk but if you can8217;t go out there and perform then you8217;re not going to be around for very long,8221; McGrath was quoted as saying by The Australian.
The lanky pacer also doubted that Sreesanth8217;s on-field aggression was not natural at all.
8220;I8217;ve had a chat to him a few times and it doesn8217;t seem to be in his character,8221; he said.
8220;He8217;s trying to be aggressive and it8217;s a little bit unusual.
8220;You want your fast bowler to be aggressive. Giving blokes send-offs or sledging when you talk back I don8217;t agree with but that8217;s up to the officials to sort out,8221; McGrath said.
And he warned the Indian team to expect enough hostility when they arrive here later in the summer to play four Test matches.
8220;The Indians really don8217;t like the quicker or bouncier wickets so we8217;ll wait and see what happens.
8220;I8217;m sure they8217;ll come and try to be aggressive but I think no-one does it better than the Australian team,8221; McGrath said.
An Australian team going through a re-building would live up to the expectations in the series, he said.
8220;I think it8217;s going to be an interesting and exciting time for Australian cricket with the young guys putting their hands up.
8220;I think the first thing is who8217;s going to be selected in the team and when they India come out I think the brand of cricket Australia plays we8217;ll be right over here,8221; he said.
McGrath did a yeoman service to the Australian team before leaving on his own term. Commenting on the current pace attack options, the 8216;Pigeon8217; said Australia faced a problem of plenty.
8220;It will be interesting to see which way they go. The way Mitchell Johnson has bowled over in India 8211; he8217;s definitely put his hand up. Brett Lee8217;s coming back, Shaun Tait8217;s down in South Australia there and is coming good again.
8220;You look at the next 18 months, two years, there8217;s a lot of cricket so I dare say there8217;s going to be a big turnover in players.8221;
He, however, was not that sure about someone filling the void created by Shane Warne8217;s retirement even though he praised both Stuart MacGill and Brad Hogg.
8220;Warney is probably a different kettle of fish.
8220;We8217;ve got a couple of front-line spinners 8211; the way Stuart MacGill8217;s showed his form through his career, Brad Hogg the way he8217;s bowled 8211; so I think it won8217;t be too bad in the near future,8221; he said.
8220;We8217;ll see how the younger spinners come through and that will be key for Australia,8221; added McGrath.
