McGrath hails return of Australia’s ‘mongrel’ approach
Since Ashes loss in England, hosts have shown fierce fast bowling, dogged batting and a more aggressive attitude
Test great Glenn McGrath has hailed Australia’s rediscovery of a “bit of mongrel” in the Ashes series and said they were starting to resemble the top teams of the past.
Australia are 2-0 up in the five-match series against England and could take an unbeatable lead if they win the Perth test starting on Friday after humbling the tourists in Brisbane and Adelaide.
Since meekly losing the Ashes in England earlier this year, Australia’s performances have been defined by fierce fast bowling, dogged batting and a more aggressive attitude.
England continued to look like a rabbit in the headlights at Adelaide and I can’t see a way back for them
McGrath said it was good to see.
“Australia play best when they’ve got a bit of mongrel about them, when they play hard out in the middle, when they don’t give an inch, when they play an aggressive brand of cricket,” he said in a column for a betting website.
“It’s something that has been missing for a little while and they’re back there now. They are a team I’d be proud to be a part of.”
McGrath, who took 563 test wickets at 21.64, credited paceman Mitchell Johnson for “injecting Australia’s psyche with a bit of confidence”.