P Roebuck: Macgill's fiery path to throne of King Shane (9 Aug 1998)

9 August 1998

Macgill's fiery path to throne of King Shane

By Peter Roebuck

DESPITE all appearances to the contrary Stuart Macgill has mellowed somewhat. Captaining him last year when he played for Devon, I couldn't help thinking that he might at any moment thump someone.

Before the match I suggested he direct his considerable energies upon the batsmen and said a quiet prayer that he'd oblige. This year he was helpful and humorous, assisting the younger players and lifting the team. Hardly once did he appear likely to clock anyone. Now he stands ready to take the position of Australian leg-spinner previously occupied by a blond-haired chap whose shoulder, long rendered useable only by powerful anti-inflammatory pills, has wilted under the surgeon's knife.

It's a daunting challenge for a 26-year-old man without many wickets to his name, burdened by a reputation for tempestuous behaviour now much less deserved, and possessing fewer skills than his incomparable predecessor.

Macgill goes to Pakistan next month and is expected to play against England afterwards. Much will depend upon his reaction to his circumstances. Hitherto he has been fighting to control a rage within, a rage that has led him into numerous scrapes. Even the Australians think him fiery. For an unconscionable time his mood was his undoing, taking him from state to state and club to club and still no settlement in sight, only the flawed delivery of a sharply spun leg-break. It wasn't that Macgill's temper frayed at the edges; it frayed in the middle. Accordingly he approached cricketing middle age with a patchy record and a dodgy reputation.

Much has happened in the 12 months since he first appeared with Devon to change his outlook. Macgill has turned his back on the demon drink, a sacrifice thought to be unique among his countrymen. Nowadays a lot more is seen of an affability that is also native. Doubtless the surges in his career have also concentrated his mind, a rise that took him into Test cricket last February and to India afterwards. A fellow cannot get away with much with Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh around.

Suddenly Macgill seems better prepared to shoulder his responsibilities and opportunities. He stands on the threshold of his own fulfilment. He knows the time has come for deeds and not curses. It's time for the previous randomness to be aimed at opposing batsmen. Otherwise he will be the eternal outsider.

Macgill is lucky to find himself the only serious candidate to replace Shane Warne. Notions that the Antipodes is full of leg-spinners are unfounded. Lots of boys flick their wrists; landing upon a length is as rare as landing upon the moon. A couple of likely lads have been spotted in some remote part of the Tasmanian hinterland, otherwise all is silent.

Accordingly it will fall to Macgill to provide the variety upon which Australian teams traditionally depend. It's a daunting challenge for a man once difficult and not yet easy. Of course he cannot hope to match Warne's legendary accuracy and turn. He is more likely to follow in the path of the Australian leg-spinners of the 1960s, effective on their day and often expensive.

Macgill has always been a cricketer, was born into a cricketing family. His grandfather represented Australia as a fast bowler, an approach that might have suited Stuart had he been born a foot taller, swifter on his pegs and leaner fingered. Trouble lies in wait for any spinner born with a fast bowler's temperament. Ferocious old characters like Bill O'Reilly could hardly have lasted an hour under the current arrangements. Macgill started bowling leg-breaks in his ankle-biter days, and was soon raising eyebrows in Perth. He was invited to attend the academy in Adelaide but it was not a harmonious time. Macgill was regarded as a prickly character and his card was marked.

Unable to prosper in his home state, where pitches and tactics favoured pace, Macgill moved to Sydney to try to break into a team that usually played three spinners. Again he moved between clubs but he did take wickets and occasionally played for New South Wales, where his abilities were recognised and his temperament questioned.

His selection for Australia owed as much to a want of competition as any achievements on his part. Nonetheless he spins the ball hard and has a deceptive googly. Throughout, a love of the game and a desire to succeed has been discernible beneath the fury. It isn't a bad place to start. The self has been a strong driving force and is now under more control.

Macgill has taken only two Test wickets so far. Upon his ability to add significantly to this tally may depend Australia's continuing pre-eminence. And that may depend upon the maturing of the bowler and the maturing of the man. Macgill is casting off his old ways like an unwanted coat and seems capable of sustaining his better self amid all the pressures and frustrations of cricket and life.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)