Kuala Lumpur: Among the up and coming Australian fast bowlers, Stuart Clark is favoured to fill into Glenn McGrath’s shoes once the veteran decides to call it a day.
Tall and lanky, Clark is from the same state as McGrath — New South Wales. A five-wicket haul in his first Test match against South Africa laid the foundations for his tally of 19 wickets in three Tests in that series.
He won the man-of-the-series award and since then has been part of Australia’s one-day and Test team set-up.
Clark is set to get a game against India on Saturday and he hopes to pick up some tips from McGrath on bowling against the likes of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.
“Glenn has played a lot against them. So it will help us. We will discuss them in team meetings and more so in bowlers’ meeting. Different ideas will be discussed on ways to bowl to them,” Clark said.
He has also been studying Sachin Tendulkar very closely. “He is one of the best batsmen in the world; he is one of the greatest players. It will be a challenge to play against him. I am hoping to get him out as well,” Clark said.
The New South Wales bowler has got used to settling down among the best players in the world. “It’s a very competitive team. Once you break into the Australian squad there is more media attention, there is so much more focus on your game,” Clark says.
Clark will play against two teams he has never faced before - India and the West Indies. But he has not given that aspect too much thought. Clark believes his team is not focusing too much on Saturday’s game which will pit Greg Chappell for the first time against Australia.
“We are ready to combat anything he can bring along. We are not focused on playing against him, but on playing against India,” Clark says.
