McGrath takes aim at 'aeroplane' Shoaib

According to Glenn McGrath, Shoaib Akhtar's king-size run-up has more to do with his love of playing to the gallery than a desire to bowl fast. McGrath weighed in to the issue after Bob Woolmer, Pakistan's coach, had earlier pleaded with Shoaib to cut down on his approach, which slowed the game down and also drastically reduced the chances of him bowling long spells.

And while McGrath accepted the fact that Shoaib, on his good days, could run through a side, he pointedly suggested that he was also capable of bowling "a heap of rubbish". McGrath took 8 for 24 in the second innings at the WACA in Perth, demolishing Pakistan with the steepling bounce and accuracy that has underpinned his charge to 472 wickets in just 104 Tests.

And while Shoaib laughed off suggestions that he pare down a run-up that starts in the shadow of the sightscreen - "Can a plane take off without a run-up?" he asked enigmatically - McGrath told the Sydney Morning Herald that the response was typical of Pakistan's premier bowler. "He's a showman, and that's what he loves," said McGrath. "Cutting that run-up down might take a bit away from that and take a bit away from who he is. Maybe that's why he's holding on.

"I don't know what I can say I am, a jump-jet or a helicopter or something. I think he could bowl just as quick off a shorter run. They say it's [Akhtar's run-up] 33 metres. Mine's 23 metres and he looks a good 17 or 20 metres behind me, so I'd say it's 40-plus. When you're bowling six-minute overs it puts pressure on the other guys to get through their overs, plus you can only get through three or four overs at top pace before you really start feeling the pinch."

McGrath also reckoned that Shoaib needed to take fresh stock of his priorities, given how much the team relied on him. "From a personal point of view, my goal was always to be the best bowler, not so much the quickest, whereas I'm sure Shoaib's major and only goal is to be the quickest bowler in the world, if not of all time," he said. "He's the type of bowler that can just rip through sides. He's got that potential there but then he's got the potential to bowl a heap of rubbish as well."

But having got in a none-too-subtle sledge ahead of the Boxing Day Test, McGrath admitted that, ultimately, run-ups were dictated by a bowler's sense of well-being. "At the end of the day, a run-up has got to feel good for the bowler. I shortened my run-up and it felt ordinary, so I had to go back to my old one. Shoaib might be the same."