Master McGrath cuts loose as Aussies bounce back

GLENN McGRATH settled back into his usual Lord’s routine to secure his place in cricket’s hall of fame and ruin England’s fine start to the first Test yesterday.

The 35-year-old Australia seamer has repeatedly confounded the critics in recent years and just this week his ability to withstand five Tests in seven weeks was questioned with England seamer Matthew Hoggard saying: “It will be tough on the body and it will be interesting to see if he is still the world-class bowler he was.”

But McGrath answered Hoggard’s doubts emphatically to become only the fourth bowler in history to claim 500 Test victims and spearhead a stunning fightback after England seemed to have claimed the early Ashes initiative.