Former Australian Test paceman Glenn McGrath says he’s happy with his fitness as he embarks on a heavy schedule before his first major cricket match in almost a year.
McGrath leaves for a 12-day training camp in India on Saturday in preparation for more than a month of Twenty20 matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.
However, the actual tournament has been shifted from India to South Africa due to security concerns.
Retiring from international cricket after the 2007 World Cup final, McGrath played in the initial IPL last year.
He now spends most of his time working with the McGrath Foundation breast cancer charity and raising his two children after losing his wife to the disease in last June.
But he said he was prepared for the upcoming schedule with the Delhi Daredevils.
“I’ve been pretty busy of late,” McGrath told reporters at a McGrath Foundation charity launch at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
“I head off tomorrow, heading to India first for a few days before heading over to South Africa, so it’s been a busy last few weeks but it’s all come together well.”
He said the IPL had changed the nature of world cricket.
“I think it probably has, hopefully for the better,” he said.
“As a player, it’s good to go over there.
“Twenty20 is quite a fast, exciting game and also I think the big selling point for me as well was that I get to play with guys that I don’t (normally) get to play with.
“And you get to see how they play, how they prepare.
“We become pretty good friends when we play against each other, but then we play with each other, it’s different again and that’s what I like about the IPL.”
He said he was happy with his form after a couple of charity matches.
“In the two games I’ve had, the bushfire appeal and Jason Gillespie’s testimonial match, I’ve come out okay,” he said.
“We’ve got a 12-day training camp before the first game so I’m hoping it’ll come back quite quickly, as long as I’m reasonably fit, the bowling usually comes back quite quickly.
“At the moment my fitness is pretty good and that will hopefully just increase that over the next few weeks.”
He said the maximum four overs per bowler rule was also appealing.
“Any more than four overs and I think I’d shy away from it.”
Delhi Dearedevils manager T.A. Sekar is upbeat about the team’s chances in the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and feels it is the most balanced side in the Twenty20 competition.
With a good mix of hard-hitting batsmen, all-rounders and steady bowling, the team has plenty of options, Sekar said.
The induction of five more international players this season has added to the strength of the side that reached the semi-final last year.
“Delhi Daredevils walk into the IPL with probably the most balanced combination,” Sekar said.
“We have the best opening pair in the world in Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, both of whom are in excellent form. Then we have A.B. de Villiers and Dilshan Tillakaratne, who were important to the team last year,” Sekar was quoted as saying by Daredevils website.
Australia’s latest sensation David Warner is the biggest catch for Daredevils this season. They have also brought two other Australian players – all-rounder Andrew McDonald and Dirk Nannes. Former England One-day captain Paul Collingwood, one of the most athletic fielders in the world and Owais Shah were also picked up in the second IPL auction in Goa.
“Our gameplan was to get a couple of hard-hitting batsmen and a couple of all-rounders into the side.”
“Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori and India spinner Amit Mishra will be a vital part of the team,” Sekar said.
“Among the new-ball bowlers, there will be sufficient options. We have the legendary Glenn McGrath, Farveez Maharoof of Sri Lanka, Collingwood, Dirk Nannes, and Ashish Nehra will lend solidity to the bowling line-up.”
Source – thaindian.com
Former Australia pacer Glenn McGrath may not have played competitive cricket since last year’s Indian Premier League but feels that would not be an issue when he puts on his boots for the tournament’s second season which kicks off in South Africa on April 18.
McGrath, who plays for the Delhi Daredevils, has been largely busy bringing up his three children following wife Jane’s death. He also has to take care of the charity organisation founded by his wife but will put everything to the back burner for five gruelling weeks of IPL action. However, despite his 39 years, McGrath, who emerged the most economical (6.61) of Delhi Daredevils bowlers, claims his competitive edge is still intact.
“I struggled a bit last year, but that was more about Jane and how the situation is back home,” McGrath said. “That won’t be a concern this time. Mum may bring the kids over for the middle period, depending on the schedule. My whole focus will be a lot different when I’m there, which I think will all be positive. Last time I think I did reasonably well considering I hadn’t played for 12 months. I have no doubts it will be similar this time, but my mindset will be different,” he told ‘Cricinfo’.
The Australian legend admitted he could not say no to the IPL with the amount of money on offer.
“There is a lot of incentive going over there with the money they’re offering. Cricket is not something that I have a great desire to get back and play at the moment. I’m very happy being retired and with everything that I achieved in my life. In saying that, as soon as I got on the field in India (in 2008), I couldn’t help being competitive. My natural instincts came out and I was away. That won’t be an issue,” said McGrath.
“Last year I did a heap of fitness work leading into it, and when I bowled in the nets for half a session I felt like I hadn’t ever been away from the game. When I played that Twenty20 match earlier on in the year for NSW, and I hadn’t done any work leading into it, it felt like I had never bowled before in my life.
“So basically if I’m fit my bowling will come back really quickly, and if I’m not fit I’m useless,” said McGrath, who will be in Delhi his week for the Daredevils’ week-long training camp before leaving for South Africa on April 7.
Source – cricket.ndtv.com
In a semifinal match that was hoped to be a real thriller, Rajasthan Royals tamed the might Delhi Daredevils for a paltry 87 runs when they were chasing a target of 193.Batting first, Royals set a target of 193 that was supposed to be a decent target in the semi’s. When Delhi Daredevils came to bat they had to be aggressive in the approach but it was over aggression that may be the reason for the loss.The batting of Delhi Daredevils was responsible for the loss as none of them was able to play a big innings. The highest scorer was Tillakaratne Dilshan who scored 33. In the end it was Rajasthan ROyals who won the match by 105 runs and now they will take on the team who wins the second semi final.
Scorecard of Semi Final-1 of DLF- IPL
