McGrath has plenty still to offer - Clark

Stuart Clark has urged his retiring mentor Glenn McGrath to help Australia with his vast playing experience after he quits.

McGrath and Shane Warne will play their last Test in Tuesday's fifth and final Ashes encounter against England at the SCG, although McGrath, 36, will play in the World Cup in March before retiring.

Clark has been a revelation in his first eight Test matches taking 42 wickets, half of them in the Ashes. He believe his fellow seam bowler McGrath would be too useful a resource to be lost to Australian cricket once he retires. Clark said he learned the art of fast bowling from studying McGrath at close hand.

The two have been team-mates at club, state and national level and have similar bowling actions. They also share the ability to find good bounce and movement off the seam, and maintain accuracy.

"He's retiring from Australian cricket but I don't think he'll be lost to Australian cricket," Clark told reporters in Sydney on Sunday. "There's a lot of knowledge in that 13-year career so we'll be doing everything we can, whether it's for Australia or for NSW, to be keeping him around the team."

Clark said McGrath and Warne were irreplaceable, but he was focused on forming a strong, lasting new-ball partnership with Brett Lee. Lee and Clark bowled impressively in the fourth Test, where their combined 11 wickets helped Australia beat England by an innings and 99 runs.

"Partnerships in bowling work like batting," he said. "If you get a good one it can lead the whole team into a good position in any Test."