The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Selectors to discuss McGrath issue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 11, 2006

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Selectors to discuss McGrath issue

Melbourne : Australian selectors will meet soon to discuss fears that sending Glenn McGrath to the Champions Trophy in India in October may not be the best preparation for the team's vital Ashes series.

McGrath, 36, skipped the tours of South Africa and Bangladesh earlier this year because of his wife Jane's cancer battle. But with Jane's health improving, the veteran of 119 Tests is now working his way back to match fitness ahead of the first Ashes Test starting on November 23 in Brisbane.

``We're going to sit down with the coaching staff and map out Glenn's fitness and how he needs to best get back into playing cricket again,'' chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said.

``That (the Indian series) will be something we'll talk through with Glenn and the Australian coaches and make sure Glenn's programme is exactly as he wants it and we need it to be so he's ready to play in the Ashes.

``We haven't really started that process yet. We will do that probably in the near future,'' he was quoted as saying in media reports on Monday.

McGrath has spoken in past years of how he likes to play himself into form with long stints at the crease and Australian pace bowling great Dennis Lillee last month backed the idea of McGrath strongly considering a Pura Cup build-up to the Ashes campaign.

Hilditch said Ricky Ponting's side would need to be in peak form to win the Ashes back from England, despite the fact England is battling injuries and coming off a drawn home Test series against Sri Lanka.

The former Test opener said he was ``not really paying that much attention'' to England's 1-1 result against Sri Lanka.

``The reality I think they'll come ready to retain the Ashes and I think they'll be a very strong side,'' Hilditch said.

``We'll have to play at our very, very best to beat England.

``Whatever they've been doing in the last few months and in the next few months, I think come Ashes time it is going to be all fairly irrelevant.'' — PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport