Glenn McGrath, who played international cricket for 14 years, was one of the premier pacers for Australia. He is still the all-time leading wicket-taker for the Aussies in ODI cricket; having 381 wickets to his name. The Australian great has picked up his top five ODI bowlers. Among which, four are pacers, and only one is a spinner.
McGrath put forth the names while speaking ahead of Australia’s third and final ODI against India on Wednesday, December 2 at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
McGrath has named the Pakistan legend Wasim Akram in his list. One of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of the game, Akram, has 502 ODI wicket in his name. He is the highest wicket-taker for his country in the shorter formats. Then McGrath went for fellow countryman Brett Lee, who has 380 wickets. Lee, who made his ODI debut in 2000 and played until 2012, had given several top-notch and memorable performances.
The next pacer in Glenn McGrath’s list is Sri Lanka’s all-time leading ODI wicket-taker Chaminda Vaas. He has picked up a hat-trick in the first over of the 2003 World Cup match against Bangladesh. In 322 ODIs, he has notched 400 wickets, including nine four-wicket hauls and four five-wicket hauls.
Muttiah Muralitharan only spinner in Glenn McGrath pick:
As for the fourth pacer, the former Australian cricket has zeroed in Shaun Pollock. The former South African pacer picked up 393 wickets from 303 ODIs. He holds the record for taking the most number of ODI wickets when playing on home soil.
The lone spinner on Glenn McGrath’s list is Muttiah Muralitharan, who is one of the best spinners in the cricket world. He is also the one to have the highest ODI wickets in his name in this list, i.e., 534. Moreover, he had an economy rate of 3.93, which meant that he was accurate and hardly allowed looseners to the batters.
Glenn McGrath’s top 5 ODI bowlers
Wasim Akram- 502 wickets, Muttiah Muralitharan- 534 wickets, Brett Lee- 380 wickets, Chaminda Vaas- 400 wickets, Shaun Pollock- 393 wickets