Ricky Ponting called him the most boring bowler to watch. Ponting said that even if you woke him up at 4am would still land the ball outside the off stump, in the corridor of uncertainty. It is this grit, determination and patience which got Glenn Donald McGrath to be counted among cricket’s all-time greats.

He never had blistering pace - and he slowed down as he aged - but the count of his victims only ever increased at higher rate. The patience of the man in bowling just outside the off stump and letting the straight seam do its bit paid rich dividends as it invited false strokes from batsmen time and again.

Born in New South Wales, Australia, McGrath played his debut Test match against New Zealand in November 1993 and his first ODI against South Africa in December of the same year. After that he did not look back, also having successful county stints at Worcestershire and Middlesex.

He was the perfect number 11 batsman for Australia, having more wickets than runs through the greater part of his career. It was in the Gabba Test against New Zealand in 2004 that he scored 61, his first and only innings of 50 or more in international cricket.

He retired from Test cricket after an Australian triumph in the Ashes in December 2006 and from one-day internationals after the 2007 World Cup win. He ended his career with 563 Test and 381 ODI wickets at averages of 21.64 and 22.02 respectively. He deservedly holds most of the important bowling records in World Cups. He played in four World Cups of which his team won three and ended as runners-up in the other.

All through his career he kept boring, nagging on the same line and length time and again, but his career had many interesting moments. He took a wicket from each off his last balls in his last one-day international and Test at his home ground, Sydney.