Last Updated on 4 weeks ago by Charbel Coorey
Legendary Australian cricketer and one of the best fast bowlers of all time, Glenn McGrath, has listed the five toughest batters he has bowled to. Talking to Jason Gillespie and Damien Fleming, McGrath also gave some insights on why these players were the toughest to bowl against.
At number five he has England’s Graham Thorpe. The Aussie pacer mentioned Thorpe’s average against him and said, “Number five, Graham Thorpe. He was deceptive. When I bowled to him, he averaged over 52. A very good player. He was unbelievable.”
At number four, McGrath puts South Africa’s AB de Villiers, who’s known for his 360-degree style of batting, which the legendary pacer also mentioned. “Number four, it’s tough because he’s brilliant at every single thing he does. Bats, bowls, plays rugby. Apparently, can sing. Probably good at chess. AB de Villiers. He was sensational. The shots he could play all around the wickets to all parts of the ground,” he said.
Indian legend VVS Laxman is the third toughest batter Glenn McGrath ever bowled to. Laxman loved playing against Australia, averaging close to 50 against them, including that memorable 281 at Eden Gardens in 2001. On Laxman, McGrath said, “Number three, it’s VVS Laxman.”
Jason Gillespie said, “he was a superb player. Some of the best batting that I’ve ever seen. He was unstoppable.”
Glenn McGrath ranks Brian Lara over Sachin Tendulkar as the toughest batter
Moving on, McGrath said the top two toughest batters he has ever bowled to are the two big boys – Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar. He mentioned that the late, great Shane Warne also said Sachin was the toughest. However, McGrath said that with Sachin, he could change his game as a bowler, but that wasn’t the case with Lara.
Glenn McGrath’s top 5 toughest batters:
- Brian Lara
- Sachin Tendulkar
- VVS Laxman
- AB de Villiers
- Graham Thorpe
Here’s what McGrath said: “The top two, two big boys in Lara, Tendulkar. They always asked me who was better. Warnie (Shane Warne) always said Sachin, but I always thought, Sachin, I could change his game. He was waiting for a bad ball, whereas Brian just wanted to entertain.
“On his day, Lara was unbelievable. So I put Sachin in at number two. I put Brian in at number one. He was just unbelievable. Some days you’d knock him over because he wasn’t switched on. But those days he came out, and he was switched on. You knew you were in trouble.”
