Chappell: McGrath has the batsmen in his spell (29 November 1998)

29 November 1998

Chappell: McGrath has the batsmen in his spell

By Ian Chappell

ENGLAND were saved by rain after succumbing to leg-spin in Brisbane and they capitulated to pace on the first day of the second Test at the WACA. The batsmen are now at such a low ebb mentally it would not seem to matter which bowlers the Australian selectors pick as long as they retain Glenn McGrath as the spearhead.

On a day when McGrath tightened the noose around Mike Atherton's neck by dismissing him for the 12th time in 17 innings, he also had a firm grip on a few other England batsmen's throats. As a bowler, McGrath does not do anything exceptional with the ball, like swing it or seam it a long way, but his attack is relentless in its pinpoint accuracy and every delivery is part of a plan.

At the WACA, he simply bowled an impeccable line and length, hammering away around off-stump and the capitulation followed as batsman after batsman hung their bat limply and presented easy offerings to the keeper and slip cordon.

McGrath enjoyed solid support from Damien Fleming, who was preferred to Michael Kasprowicz as the into-the-wind swing bowler and gleefully seized his opportunity, and the rehabilitated Jason Gillespie.

The easterly breeze in Perth always provides assistance for the swing bowlers and Fleming capitalised by producing a beauty to get rid of Mark Butcher. Following McGrath's example, Fleming bowled off-stump and consistently made the ball swing out to the right-handers. The right-handers obligingly kept nicking the ball and not only did Fleming finish with his first five-wicket haul in Tests, but Ian Healy also claimed five victims. For England, it was a case of more nicks than a bad day shaving.

From the moment Mark Taylor won the toss and inserted England, the Australians were on top and the danger now is that the tourists are psychologically scarred to the point where they cannot come back. Most of these England players are now so familiar with losing to Australia that they cannot imagine being the dominant team in an Ashes contest.

Graeme Hick and John Crawley are classic examples. Both came and went in quick time and in familiar fashion and to make matters worse, Hick dropped a sitter from Taylor - as if the Australia captain had not had enough good news for one day.

Hick and Crawley fell to the bouncy Gillespie, who displayed enough pace in his few overs to believe that the work done on his back and his action has been worth the pain of missing nearly two years' Test cricket.

Virtually only three bowlers were required to demolish England as they completely failed to capitalise on what I thought was a poor Australian selection. In recent times, Australia have won despite some mystifying selections and the inclusion of Colin Miller here should have been looked upon by England's batsmen as a bonus. The selectors had 50 cents each way as Miller is neither the best swing bowler nor the best spinner in the country, but bowls a bit of each. Australia's fourth bowler should either have been Kasprowicz if they wanted an all-pace attack or if they believed a spinner was required then Stuart MacGill was the man.

The panel rationalised their confusing selections with a ridiculous "horses for courses" explanation but as long as McGrath continues to bombard the top order, it will look like a plausible theory. I can only say that the selectors are fortunate the race is on the flat and England are not putting any hurdles in Australia's way.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)