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McGrath weighs in on great pace debate

Legendary paceman says modern-day obsession with velocity doesn't account for fast-bowlers' other skills

Glenn McGrath believes Australia's preoccupation with speed among its fast-bowling contingent is somewhat misplaced, explaining that bounce was his weapon of choice throughout his record-breaking 124-Test career.


And with Vernon Philander tearing through Australia on day one of the second Commonwealth Bank Test at speeds more closely associated with a medium pacer than a genuine fast bowler, it appears flat-out pace is just one means of causing batsmen problems.

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"If I could have bowled 100 miles per hour I would have bowled at 100 miles per hour, there's no doubt about that," McGrath told cricket.com.au.

"But when I spoke to the best batsmen in the world – Lara, Tendulkar, the Aussie boys – they said it's always harder to face someone bowling mid-130s that really gets that bounce to someone bowling high 140s that skids the ball on.

"You've got to work out what works for you.

"At the end of the day, the job of the fast bowler is not to bowl dot balls, it's to take wickets.

"If you're taking wickets, that's all you need to do."

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On a cloudy day in Hobart, Philander managed to do both, at one point bowling 34 consecutive dot balls before finishing with 5-21 as the Proteas routed Australia for 85.

The right-arm seamer's handiwork was achieved bowling at a pace well below what's considered 'fast'; his five wicket balls were clocked at between 126.1kph and 129.5kph.

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Australia coach Darren Lehmann has regularly preached 'velocity' as a key weapon among his pacemen, with Mitchell Johnson and now Mitchell Starc regularly hitting speeds approaching or even above 150kph.

After tea on Saturday, Starc took three wickets in 10 balls, and the left-armer's rapid pace was a crucial factor in that successful burst; his three wicket balls were at speeds of 144.3kph, 145.6kph and 147.3kph.

On pitches around Australia that are nowadays more regularly favouring the batsmen, Lehmann's velocity theory stands to reason.

Yet the bounce of McGrath and the movement of Philander highlight there is more than one way to skin a cat.

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"There's been a lot of talk saying if that was the attitude when I played, I wouldn't have got a game," McGrath said in reference to the emphasis on flat-out pace.

"You can turn it around and say if batsmen don't go out and bat like Davey Warner these days then they don't deserve to have a game.

"So it's six of one, half a dozen of the other.

"I think if you're a wicket-taker and you're taking wickets, then off you go.

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"When I played I didn't even consider anyone taking my position in the team.

"I never thought I'd get dropped because I knew exactly what I had to do, I had no doubts that I could do it and that if I did it, the results would speak for themselves.

"It comes back to the attitude of the bowler, as long as he's taking wickets he'll stay in the team."

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Unsurprisingly, McGrath believes he was consistently quicker in the early part of his international career, and while a drop-off in pace wasn't a conscious thing as the years wore on, his increased skills-set more than made up for any absence of velocity.

"I think the quickest ball I ever bowled on the speed gun was the '99 World Cup final and it was 92mph (148kph), so it was reasonable," he said.

"(But) I think I was lot quicker when I first got (to international cricket).

"In 1995 in the West Indies, I was running in a lot harder, hitting the crease better and my pace was probably quicker then.

"I didn't intentionally slow down to get control, it was just the way things turned out.

"I was trying to bowl as quick as I could.

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"I think my action, even when I look at replays it looks like I'm just jogging in and rolling my arm over, but it felt like I was putting in everything in every ball I bowled.

"To bowl express pace is not something you can teach, it's something that comes naturally.

"Bowling at 150kph is something you are born with.

"You can't take a 130kph bowler and turn him into 150 if they don't have the ability.

"It's something that's natural.

"I just felt if you found the edge and it carried to the slips and they caught it, happy days."

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