Cricket: When you’re a whiz you can pull rank

Glenn McGrath has played 107 tests and is now within sight of the 500 test wickets milestone. Picture / Mark Mitchell

Don't expect to see Glenn McGrath slaving into Wellington's trademark southerly when the second transtasman test begins this morning.

The iconic 35-year-old seamer might not be the sharpest of the Australian pace quartet, but he is easily the most successful and senior, and is promising to pull rank if Wellington is struck by gales over the next couple of days, as forecast.

McGrath, who helped turn the first test on its head with a six-wicket bag in the first innings, needs only 12 more wickets to become the second paceman in history to reach the 500-mark, a goal already eclipsed by team-mate Shane Warne.

The quick-witted paceman has taken 488, trailing only Courtney Walsh (519), Muthiah Muralitharan (532) and Warne (573) on the all-time list, while sitting comfortably ahead of India's Anil Kumble (450) and Kapil Dev (434), and New Zealand's Sir Richard Hadlee (431).

However, while McGrath was quick to exploit the different conditions in New Zealand, and particularly the reverse-swinging opportunity in Christchurch, he said he had never enjoyed playing in windy conditions - whatever his role.

"To be honest, I don't like a lot of wind," he said. "Bowling into it is pretty tough any day. But bowling with it, even when there's a strong breeze, it's hard to get your rhythm. So I'll just be hoping that it's not too bad.

"I told Jason [Gillespie] this morning that if I bowl into the wind I'll be bowling about 60km/h, but if I'm bowling with it I could be up to around 200km/h."

McGrath, with 107 tests under his belt, might be hard-pressed to reach to the 500-mark in this match, but he has contingency plans prepared should the New Zealand batting line-up crumble once more and put him within reach.

The family man from New South Wales said things were a bit up in the air, but that he was hoping to have some extra-special support at the ground from his wife and children when he finally bridged the gap and took a rarefied 500th test wicket.

"We'll have to see how things pan out because I know that Jane wants to be here for the 500 and I want her and the kids to be here," he said.

"We'll see how this test match goes and make a decision from there. The easiest option is to wait for England because Jane won't have to get up and leave overnight. But we're just playing it by ear. Even if Jane jumps on a flight and comes over herself and gets someone to look after the kids . . . it's an option. She would definitely do that."

McGrath has been there and done that in a cricketing sense, to the extent that he can see New Zealand falling into the same old traps this weekend as Australia shoot for their seventh consecutive test victory.

New Zealand toured Australia before Christmas and lost both tests, the first inside four days after collapsing for 76 in Brisbane, and the second after failing to recover from their Gabba mauling and disintegrating in Adelaide.

McGrath took nine wickets over the course of the two pre-Christmas tests and reckons he can detect a similar trend developing in New Zealand, particularly after the Black Caps' setback in Christchurch last weekend.

"We knocked them over for 70-odd in the second dig in Brisbane, which was about 40 or 50 less than what Jason and I put on.

"It [the psychological edge] was carried into the second test in Adelaide, where we were pretty dominant, as well. So I'm sure it will have an effect."

For all his success around the world, McGrath has never completely dined out on a New Zealand batting line-up until last weekend, when he harnessed the reverse-swinging conditions intelligently and helped turn the game for his team.

In 12 tests against New Zealand he has taken 46 wickets at 28.15 (not quite as impressive as his career average of 21.39), while grabbing two five-wicket bags - in Christchurch last week and in Brisbane in 1997 when he took five for 32.

With 12 years of test experience under his belt, McGrath reckons he can appreciate what it must be like to come up against an attack that includes two guys who have taken more than 1000 test wickets between them.

"When you've got two guys in the team that have taken over 1000 wickets between them, guys do treat you a lot differently," he said.

"There's more respect. Cricket is a hugely mental game to start with so I'm sure New Zealand do feel that - as any team would with two guys around 500 apiece.

"It's like Waqar and Wasim, or so you would like to think."