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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| McGrath to retire after World Cup | McGrath to retire after World Cup |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Australia seam bowler Glenn McGrath will retire from international cricket after next year's World Cup. | |
| His decision comes two days after Shane Warne said he would quit international cricket after the current Ashes series. | His decision comes two days after Shane Warne said he would quit international cricket after the current Ashes series. |
| McGrath, who is 36, said playing his last Test on his home ground in Sydney next month would be a "fantastic end" to his Test career. | McGrath, who is 36, said playing his last Test on his home ground in Sydney next month would be a "fantastic end" to his Test career. |
| McGrath has taken 555 wickets in 122 Tests and is third on the all-time list behind Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. | |
| "Sydney will be my last Test match which will be a fantastic end for me because this is my home ground and my favourite ground in the world," McGrath told a news conference in Melbourne on Saturday. | "Sydney will be my last Test match which will be a fantastic end for me because this is my home ground and my favourite ground in the world," McGrath told a news conference in Melbourne on Saturday. |
| "It's only in the last few games that I've really thought about [retirement]. It is a tough decision as well as being an easy decision. | "It's only in the last few games that I've really thought about [retirement]. It is a tough decision as well as being an easy decision. |
| "Everything is exactly where I wanted it to be but it is getting a lot tougher to leave home because the kids are growing up. | "Everything is exactly where I wanted it to be but it is getting a lot tougher to leave home because the kids are growing up. |
| "I've still got four months of cricket left if it all goes well and I will sit back and take a look at things then. The last thing I want to do is rush into something else." | "I've still got four months of cricket left if it all goes well and I will sit back and take a look at things then. The last thing I want to do is rush into something else." |
| Only a couple of days ago Glenn said he still had a couple of years left in him Geoff Lawson | |
| The World Cup takes place in the West Indies in March and April. | |
| Australian newspapers had said McGrath might retire before that tournament to help his wife Jane in her battle against cancer. | |
| McGrath took eight months out of the game earlier this year to take care of her before returning to action at the ICC Champions Trophy in September. | McGrath took eight months out of the game earlier this year to take care of her before returning to action at the ICC Champions Trophy in September. |
| He rejoined the Test side for the Ashes and took six wickets to help Australia win the first Test in Brisbane. | He rejoined the Test side for the Ashes and took six wickets to help Australia win the first Test in Brisbane. |
| His double-wicket maiden late on day four of the third Test in Perth swung the game in Australia's favour and led to them taking a winning 3-0 lead in the series. | His double-wicket maiden late on day four of the third Test in Perth swung the game in Australia's favour and led to them taking a winning 3-0 lead in the series. |
| McGrath made a habit of dismissing the best of the world's batsmen - he claimed the wicket of West Indies star Brian Lara 15 times and England's Mike Atherton on 19 occasions. | |
| 606: DEBATE McGrath was always overshadowed by Warne's flamboyance CG 606: Have your say | |
| Cricket Australia chief executive officer James Sutherland said McGrath had achieved the rare distinction of being a consistent match-winner in both Test and one-day cricket for 13 years. | |
| "They say bowlers win matches - they must have been thinking of players like Glenn McGrath when they said that," Sutherland said. | |
| "His remorseless accuracy and forensic probing of the slightest weakness in a batsman's technique is legendary." | |
| After this series, Australia do not have another Test for 11 months. | |
| Geoff Lawson, who preceded McGrath as a seamer with Australia and New South Wales, told BBC Five Live the announcement had not come as a complete shock. | |
| "Only a couple of days ago - in the middle of the Shane Warne retirement announcement - Glenn said he still had a couple of years left in him. | |
| "But for those who have been suggesting over the last few months that it may be the swansong for Glenn McGrath if Australia did regain the Ashes, it's not a surprise," he said. | |
| "At 36, nearing 37, I suppose the body tends to find things a little bit tougher and therefore retirement becomes a much easier decision." |