McGrath will get the new ball

Australian coach John Buchanan has said Glenn McGrath will take the new ball when the Ashes series starts in late November.

The Australian coaching team have been in an aggressive mood this week following comments from bowling coach Troy Cooley that the current Australian bowling attack is superior to the England attack he coached in the last Ashes series.

The Australian bowling unit is expected to consist of Brett Lee, McGrath, Stuart Clark and Shane Warne, with veteran backup from Michael Kasprowicz and Jason Gillespie, along with the more youthful Shaun Tait, Nathan Bracken and Mitchell Johnson.

Bunchanan laughed off comments that McGrath would struggle to be a force after being out of cricket since January and now approaching 37 years of age.

Bunchanan added that McGrath’s career record of 542 wickets from 119 Tests at an average of 21.55 still unnerved batsmen and his record speaks for itself.