“To have Shane bowling at the other end was an absolute privilege”: When Glenn McGrath talked about his bowling partnership with Shane Warne

Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath used to hunt in pairs, and they were regarded as one of the most lethal bowling duos.

Shane Warne is arguably one of the greatest players to ever play the game. He was the first bowler in the world to claim 700 test wickets. He ended his career with 708 test wickets, whereas he has 293 ODI wickets under his belt. Warne also bowled the “Ball of the Century” in the 1993 Ashes.

Apart from his on-field records, Warne has had a lot of controversies throughout his career. He failed the drug test ahead of the 2003 World Cup. Warne even passed on the critical information to a bookmaker about the game. He has also been in a rift with Muttiah Muralitharan, Arjuna Ranatunga and Steve Waugh.  Despite all the off-field controversies, Warne is hugely admired in the cricketing circuit.

The combo of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath

There is an English proverb that the bowlers hunt in pairs. The batting partnerships are often talked about, but there have been a lot of bowling pairs as well. Broad-Anderson, Holding-Marshall, Pollock-Ntini are some of the examples. Although, the combo of Shane Warne-Glenn McGrath was something else.

Warne-McGrath combo was a nightmare for the batters. Both of them used to bowl in tandem, and they used to take wickets for fun. McGrath was famous for his consistency, whereas Warne was a magician. McGrath used to frustrate and tire the batters, whereas Warne used to take their wickets.

Both Warne and McGrath had their best time in the Ashes. Under their regime, Australia did not lose a single home Ashes test. Warne is the highest wicket-taker in the Ashes with 195 scalps, whereas McGrath sits on the second spot with 157 wickets.

Glenn McGrath once said that Warne had every asset in his kitty. He also called it a privilege to bowl alongside Shane Warne.

“He had all the variations, the flipper, the wrong-un. You name it and I think he had a new delivery every year. To have Shane bowling at the other end was an absolute privilege,” Glenn McGrath said.