Glenn McGrath fears for Aussies in upcoming tour of India

Former Australian pacer Glenn McGrath has stated that he fears the worst for the Australians when they tour India later next year in light of their recent performances in Test matches in Sri Lanka. For the first time in their history, the Sri Lankans managed to score a 3-0 whitewash and a clean sweep against Australia. For the latter and for Steve Smith, this was quite clearly a case of embarrassment when they lost the world number one ranking to a Lankan side ranked much lower than them.

Speaking about the horrific situation in the subcontinent at the moment, Glenn McGrath said that the boys have a lot of work ahead of them if they wanted to be successful in subcontinent conditions. “Especially with the way things went in Sri Lanka on turning wickets, they have got a lot of work to do between now and then. The Aussies will find it tough in India unless they turn things around pretty quickly,” McGrath told reporters during a promotional event.

“They really get too defensive and look to survive. They need to find a way as a team or as an individual to cope with the turning wickets. They should have the intent to score runs. They just can’t look to survive,” he added.

Speaking about Steve Smith’s departure from the side, McGrath said, “I’m not sure about the exact reason behind Steve’s going home early, whether he had niggles or something else. David Warner will enjoy the captaincy. I think they will play well once they go back to Australia.”

The sweep shot was something that Australia batsman Matthew Hayden used to good effect against the likes of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. “You look back to 2001-04, Matthew Hayden decided to play the sweep shot. He played it really well and that’s how he took on the bowling on turning wickets. Our batsmen need to find ways to score and not just look to survive on turning tracks,” he said.

Speaking about Test cricket, McGrath said, “Test cricket is still the ultimate and young people should hold it in high regard. I used to have concerns about T20 cricket and its impact in the game but I think it can have a positive impact by bringing new people into the game to watch it and to play. That might filter up to the Test level,” said McGrath.

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“You look at the guys like Virat, AB de Villiers, Steven Smith, Joe Roots, they are quality Test players and are also up there with the best in T20. You still need to be a quality batsman to succeed at T20 level too.”

Former Aussie paceman also said that there is no need to be harsh towards India’s limited-overs skipper MS Dhoni for not finishing the 1st T20I against West Indies, “He’s been one of the best finishers of the game. He’s been a quality player for a long time. Not finishing anymore a little bit harsh judgment,”

Finally, speaking about the pink ball, McGrath added, “They have to leave a little bit of grass just to look after the pink ball. It does deteriorate pretty quickly. I am looking forward to seeing how it goes in India. Wickets here are generally more abrasive. I want to see how pink ball holds up. I’m really a big fan of the concept and day-night Tests to keep the people’s interest in mind.”