"I still don't remember seeing it, but I remember feeling it" - Glenn McGrath recalls his injury during 2005 Ashes series
Former Australian legend Glenn McGrath has opened up on the infamous injury that ruled him out of the second Test during the 2005 Ashes series. The right-arm seamer revealed that he stepped up on a cricket ball while trying to pick up a rugby ball.
McGrath had decimated England in the first Test at Lord's by taking nine wickets as Australia won by 239 runs. However, the New South Welshman's ankle injury put him out of the second Test. He also dealt with an elbow issue later in the series as Australia lost the assignment 2-1.
On this day in 2005, Glenn McGrath produced one of the greatest spells in Ashes history. Eight years later, it provided motivation for another modern pace-bowling great
STORY: cricket.com.au/news/glenn-mcg… https://t.co/dM6tG5G0Bp
Speaking to BBC Sport, McGrath recalled how he overlooked the cricket balls laid for the warm-up sessions while trying to pick up the rugby league ball. The 53-year-old lamented veering away from their normal warm-up routine that day.
"We had a look at the pitch and were standing around chatting. Brad Haddin picked up a rugby league ball and we were passing it back and forth. He rates himself, but threw a rubbish pass that bounced halfway and rolled along the ground. I turned to pick the ball up, but what I hadn't seen were the cricket balls that had been put out for when we did start the warm-up."
"My first step was on the ball. I still don't remember seeing it, but I remember feeling it. To think if we'd just stuck to the normal routine. Routines are very important to cricketers, routines are very important to me, but we changed our routine before that game."
While McGrath returned for the third Test and picked up a fifer, he felt the opposition got a mental edge due to his absence. The Aussie bowler said that winning at Egbaston would have killed the series for the hosts.
"It was tough sitting there watching. Not so much that we lost, but I always wonder what positive impact could I have had on the team. It's not so much the bowling impact, it's the impact on the mental state of the opposition."
"All of a sudden, I'm not playing. I'd bowled well at Lord's, then I'm out, which gives a lift to the opposition that wouldn't have been there otherwise. If we had got those last three runs, it would have killed the series there and then. England's confidence would have been shattered."
The second Test at Edgbaston was one of the greatest of all time as England prevailed by two runs. Chasing 282, Australia slumped to 175/8 as their last specialist batter Michael Clarke perished for 30.
However, Brett Lee, Shane Warne and Michael Kasprowicz dragged them closer. Kasprowicz was the last man to go, though, as he was caught by Geriant Jones behind the stumps.
"I'm not going to sit here and say we would have won, it may have been exactly the same" - Glenn McGrath
Speaking of the seesaw nature of the series, McGrath believed it was a brilliant spectacle for the sport. The 124-Test veteran stated that he loved playing in England, given the favorable conditions, adding:
"It was a bittersweet moment. It was tough sitting watching those Tests and not playing, but the impact that series had on the game itself was brilliant."
"I'm not going to sit here and say we would have won, it may have been exactly the same. I loved playing cricket in England. The conditions over here suited me down to the ground. It was perfect. I like to think I would have had a positive impact on the team, but we'll never know."
#OnThisDay in 2005, England won the Ashes for the first time since 1987! 🏴
A draw at The Oval secured a 2-1 series win for the hosts - the greatest Ashes series of all time? https://t.co/jgzuAkHYjs
The upcoming Ashes series starts on June 16 at Edgbaston.