Proud Narromine product and Australian cricket legend Glenn McGrath says he 'wouldn't change my upbringing for anything'

Cricketers are no better, with all players in NSW forced to make the move to Sydney at one stage in order to get noticed more and give themselves the chance to be selected for higher honours.

Glenn McGrath is well aware of that challenge, having famously moved from Narromine to Sydney at age 19 with his caravan in tow. 

“Even when I played for the Blues about half of the team was born and bred in the bush,” he told the Daily Liberal.

“You’ve got to be a bit more determined and you’ve still got to move down to Sydney and grade cricket at some stage.

“I’ve heard numbers in the country have dropped off a little but but there’s still lots coming through and lots of kids who want to play for Australia and I know I wouldn’t change my upbringing for anything. It stood me in good stead.”

McGrath, who still considers himself a “proud Narromine boy” after spending close to the first two decades of his life in the town, doesn’t get the chance to head back west often these days.

Despite that, he said it’s always a special occasion any time he gets back home and sees the statue erected in his honour in the middle of town.

“I used to have a property out between Bourke and Cunnamulla, my brother has it now, but now the further west I drive the more I feel relaxed,” he said.

“I’ve still got an uncle there in Narromine and family around the area. I don’t get to stop there a lot but I’ve got a lot of fond memories there.”

McGrath is one of a huge number of cricketers who have gone from regional and rural to the international arena.

Another now making waves is Tamworth product Josh Hazlewood.

Hazelwood is part of the Australian side currently battling England in the Ashes and McGrath feels the biggest hurdle between Australia and a 5-0 whitewash is the second Test at Adelaide.

Narromine’s favourite has son has never been afraid to make a bold prediction prior to a series and after seeing Australia claim a 10-wicket win in the first Test at the Gabba his confident mood has not been affected.

However, when speaking to the Daily Liberal, McGrath said the biggest challenge for Steve Smith and his men will come at Adelaide in the first Ashes day-night Test.

“England is talking up Adelaide and they've earmarked it as one they can win,” he said, the Test match starting Saturday.

“So if the Aussies can win this one and win well then I think it probably will end up being 5-0.

“In the end (of the first Test) the players all proved the selectors right and I think Australia can improve, more so with the bat, but if our bowlers can stay fit and play every Test then I think we can win 5-0, no doubt.”

With the second Test being played under day-night conditions with a pink ball, much more swing is expected and that should suit the English attack, led by Jimmy Anderson.

McGrath, like many others, was surprised by the slower pace of the Gabba pitch during the first Test at Brisbane but said the Australian bowling attack was “excellent” on a deck which offered little.

McGrath is as good as anyone to speak about the Australian attack, as he has still taken the most Test wickets of any fast bowler.

After starting out in the Test arena as a lanky 23-year-old, McGrath went on to play 124 Tests for his country while he was renowned as an Ashes specialist who tortured countless English batsmen.

Hazlewood, a bowler many have compared to McGrath, appeared to get better the more he bowled at the Gabba while Pat Cummins impressed in his first Test on Australian soil and Mitchell Starc showed plenty of glimpses of his devastating best.

“I was really happy with the way they bowled. They were excellent on a slow, wet deck and I like how they bowled to the tail,” McGrath said.

“It was aggressive, short and intimidating and made it uncomfortable and England's tail didn't score many runs.

“The first three days were neck-and-neck and I thought the Aussies had bowled quite well and then we got the ascendancy late on day three.

“All in all, it was a really good win for the Aussies. A 10-wicket win probably wasn't a true reflection of the match but there was lots of positives.”

The second Test starts from 2pm on Saturday.

Australia is expected to field the same side while a finger injury to Moeen Ali may force England to hand young leg-spinner Mason Crane a debut.

As a lanky young fast bowler growing up in Narromine Glenn McGrath never imagined he would go on to become one of his country’s finest ever cricketers.

He also never thought he would be an ambassador for a fashion label.

But that’s exactly what has happened and McGrath spoke to the Daily Liberal after being announced as one of the new faces of the Johnny Bigg menswear label.

“I've always had trouble finding clothes that fit, especially for length, even in cricket whites. I still remember my first Sheffield Shield game when I played 'A.B' (Allan Border) and Queensland and they were all sledging me because me pants were three or four inches too short for me,” he said.

The role is one of many things which keeps McGrath busy.

His work with the McGrath foundation is well documented while he is also involved in the media, has had a role coaching in India while he also just returned from competing in the New York marathon.

He will be in the limelight in January when the Sydney Test rolls around again.

The Pink Day, the third day of the match each year, has gone from strength to strength and a flood of colour is expected to fill the SCG again in 2018.

“This is the 10^th year of it and it’s amazing how fast it’s gone. But it’s against England in an Ashes test so there’s going to be plenty happening,” he said.

“It’s a busy five days for me but it’s something I’m really proud of.

“I don’t get much time but I always take five or 10 minutes to just stop and have a look around and see all the pink in the ground.”

The Sydney Test runs from January 4-8.