Glenn Mcgrath is a former Australian cricketer widely renowned as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He was a type of bowler whose focus was more on accuracy than express pace. He had the ability to bowl consistently at one point without deviating from his line & length with very little seam movement. Under his bowling, Australia was at the pinnacle of success during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Glenn Mcgrath during a match.He started playing cricket in Narromine, New South Wales where he was spotted by Doug Walters; a former Australian cricketer. He then moved to Sydney to play grade cricket. It wasnt easy for him to climb the ladder of success. In one of the British daily newspapers, The Guardian, it was reported that [25]Cricket Country He had to live in a beach caravan. At the same time, he had to work in a bank. His colleague had told the paper, He used to sign withdrawal slips and pass them to girls and say keep this because Im going to be famous one day. Glenn Mcgrath as a kid.In one of the matches, during his younger days, he was not given the ball due to his inconsistent bowling. Dejected Mcgrath then started practicing in the backyard of his house. One of the reporters of ABC Michael Vincent told, He didnt have an even wicket, he didnt even have a set of stumps and, like many other country kids before him, he improvised, raining down balls on a 44-gallon drum. Ball after ball, after ball..During Australias 1995 victory over West Indies, Mcgrath took the approach of bouncing the West Indies Team, including the bowlers. In Mcgraths biography, Ricky Ponting wrote, I remember thinking Glenns decision to take on the West Indies bowlers sent out a positive message to the West Indies that the Australian side was really up for it. Ambrose, Walsh, Kenny Benjamin had never been treated like that before. It made the West Indies sit back and think, This Australian team is fair dinkumtheyre really up for it. Even if you arent the murder boys of cricket, you can show little things to let the opposition know you are serious. It might be the way you warm-up, how you dress to go to the ground. Perception can be enormous. If you can give off the right signals to (a) bluffing them or (b) showing them what youre all about. McGrath, at that stage of his career, showed them what he was all about. His body language and the way he looked at their batsman the wry smile it sent a signal to the batsman and his own teammates that he knew what he was doing. Glenn Mcgrath along with Ricky Ponting during a match.He met his future wife Jane at a nightclub in Hong Kong named Joe Bananas in 1995. Recalling those days, Jane told, Of all the guys there, he was the last one to say hello. So the challenge was there for me. Initially, she did not know how big a cricketing figure McGrath was. It was only after a few incidents that she realized that McGrath was a legend and respected by most people in Australia. Glenn Mcgrath with his first wife.In 2000, he started playing for Worcestershire in the English County Championship where he became popular among the countys supporters. Playing for the side, he took 80 wickets in 14 first-class games with a bowling average of 13.21 runs per wicket which includes his bowling performance of 8 for 41 against Northamptonshire. Besides this, he also scored one fifty (55 runs) against Nottinghamshire. In 2004, he played for the Middlesex team but could only grab nine wickets in four first-class games.His batting was somehow infamous in the cricketing world. Once, he had a bet with his friend Shane Warne that he will hit a fifty at least once in his international career. He finally achieved it on 20 November 2004 against New Zealand at The Gabba (Brisbane) in a test match which was won by Australia. Glenn Mcgrath on his way to his ODIs best score on 20 November 2004.During the 2005 Ashes series, in the first test at Lords, Mcgrath produced the spell that led England to score 155 runs with the loss of ten wickets. He finished with five wickets for fifty-three runs and completed his 500 wickets in test cricket. In the second inning, he took 4 wickets and conceded 29 runs. With his overall match performance, he was adjudged Player of the match. Glenn Mcgrath (with the ball) getting applauded by his teammates after taking the 500th wicket in a form of Marcus Trescothick.Right before the start of the second test match at the Edgbaston, Mcgrath injured his ankle hence, unable to play in the match. England won this match by two runs. He then played the third test at Old Trafford where he took his second five-wicket haul. Mcgrath again missed the fourth Test at Trent Bridge which England won convincingly by three wickets. The fifth test was the decider at the Oval. Mcgrath was back in the team. The match ended in a draw giving England the series win. Mcgraths injury was seen as the key factor in England winning the Ashes as the victory came in matches where Mcgrath was absent. Glenn Mcgrath ankle injury at Edgbaston during 2005 Ashes.The next Ashes series took place a year later in 2006-2007 in Australia. Mcgrath was back in the squad after participating in the 2006 Champions Trophy to reclaim his spot in Australias test XI. The first test was at Gabba where Mcgrath took a six-wicket haul and set the tone for Australias yet another Ashes victory over England. This time Australia completely whitewashed England with 5-0. It was the only second Ashes whitewash after the 1920-21 Ashes series. Mcgrath finished the series with 21 wickets at an average of 23.90. It was his final test series. In his biography, Mcgrath wrote, There was an incredible sense of emotion and elation as I walked around the Sydney Cricket Ground with my teammates, holding hands with my children, James and Holly. I didnt feel the slightest sense of sadness about retiring. I knew Id reached the end; my body told me that. And even more importantly, Id realized that those special moments I was missing in the life and times of my family were too great the moments had become weeks at a time, and I didnt like it. Glenn Mcgrath acknowledged the crowd after playing his final test at Sydney on 5 January 2007.