Stuart MacGill
Encyclopedia
Stuart Charles Glyndwr MacGill (born 25 February 1971) is a former right-arm leg spin
bowler of the Australian cricket team
, with a domestic career at Western Australia, New South Wales
, Nottinghamshire
, Devon
and Somerset
. He has been credited with having the best strike rate
of any modern leg-spin bowler, however he did not have a regular place in the Australian Test
team due to the dominance of Shane Warne
in the position of sole spinner. Often, it has been said that he was "born in the wrong era". His bowling was slightly slower through the air than Warne, but he was a prodigious turner of the ball.
He was brought back in 2007 after the retirement of Warne, as spinner for the first Test against the Sri Lankan cricket team
. He announced his retirement from international cricket during the second Test of Australia's 2008 tour of the West Indies. Moving into commentary, MacGill co-hosted the 2009 Ashes series
on SBS with Damien Martyn
and Greg Matthews
. MacGill was a radio co-host on the Triple M Sydney breakfast program, The Grill Team
from 2009 until 2010.
suburb of Mount Lawley
and began his first-class career in the 1993/94 season playing for Western Australia
. He managed just one game, against New South Wales at the SCG but did not take a wicket and did not play again for over two years. When he returned in 1996/97 it was for New South Wales
and he took 6 wickets in the match, the first being Darren Berry
. He finished the season with 16 wickets at 37.00.
He spent the English summer playing club cricket in Devon, for Tiverton CC, and played a game for Somerset
against the touring Pakistan A side.
1997/98 was the breakthrough season for MacGill, he made his Test debut and finished with 35 wickets at 28.14 in the Sheffield Shield.
MacGill kept his spot in the side when they returned home for an Ashes series, again finishing as Australia's most successful bowler with 27 wickets at 17.70. His tally included his then career best innings figures of 7 for 50, made in the 5th Test at Sydney. He took a total of 12 wickets in that match and had done enough to convince the selectors to use two spinners for their tour of the West Indies.
After taking just 12 wickets from the four Tests he was dropped from the side, only returning when Australia hosted the West Indies in 2000/01. In a series whitewash, all the Australian bowlers bar MacGill, who took 16 wickets at 31.31, managed to average under 20 with the ball.
He played his next Test in January 2002 against South Africa, taking 7 wickets. With Warne unavailable for the 4th and 5th Tests of the 2002/03 Ashes series, MacGill came in and despite taking 12 wickets he averaged over 40.
With Shane Warne
serving a drugs ban, MacGill returned to the Caribbean in 2003 and for the next year acted as Australia's sole spinner. In the 11 Tests that he played, including the Caribbean tour, he took 53 wickets. He played series against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and India.
Sri Lanka toured Australia in 2004 and despite Warne returning to the side MacGill kept his spot. He struggled throughout the Test series and took just 5 wickets at 46.40. He lost his spot in the side and over the next year and a half played just two Tests, both on the spin friendly SCG wicket. The first was against Pakistan and his 8 wickets earned his the Man of the Match award. The second was against the ICC World XI and he managed 9 wickets.
MacGill partnered Warne when Australia hosted the West Indies for a Test series in 2005/06. He took 5 wickets at Hobart and just 2 in Adelaide. He played again in the Tests that followed, against South Africa and won a place in Australia's squad for their inaugural tour of Bangladesh. At Fatullah he took 8 for 108 in the first innings, his career best figures.
Warne retired from Test cricket at the end of the 2006-07 Ashes series
, although MacGill faced competition for a place in the side from several younger players. MacGill was never a serious contender for the One Day International team, and has since retired from that form of the game. MacGill announced that he would retire after the 2nd Test against the West Indies.
, both played cricket for Western Australia.
MacGill is married to journalist Rachel Friend
.
MacGill is noted as a thinker who has a fondness for wine and books, once reading 24 novels during a tour of Pakistan. Known for his individuality, he was the only Australian Cricketer to declare himself unavailable to tour Zimbabwe in 2004 on moral grounds. He also refused to appear in an advertisement for Cricket Australia
sponsor KFC
, claiming that “The problem for me is that KFC and Cricket Australia are hitting parents where they’re vulnerable. Parents are already under a lot of pressure from kids to buy this stuff and when you get the Australian cricket team endorsing it you just increase that pressure. It’s just wrong in so many ways."
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
bowler of the Australian cricket team
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, with a domestic career at Western Australia, New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
, Devon
Devon County Cricket Club
Devon County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Devon and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy....
and Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
. He has been credited with having the best strike rate
Strike rate
Strike rate refers to two different statistics in the sport of cricket. Batting strike rate is a measure of how frequently a batsman achieves the primary goal of batting, namely scoring runs. Bowling strike rate is a measure of how frequently a bowler achieves the primary goal of bowling, namely...
of any modern leg-spin bowler, however he did not have a regular place in the Australian Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
team due to the dominance of Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
in the position of sole spinner. Often, it has been said that he was "born in the wrong era". His bowling was slightly slower through the air than Warne, but he was a prodigious turner of the ball.
He was brought back in 2007 after the retirement of Warne, as spinner for the first Test against the Sri Lankan cricket team
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
. He announced his retirement from international cricket during the second Test of Australia's 2008 tour of the West Indies. Moving into commentary, MacGill co-hosted the 2009 Ashes series
2009 Ashes series
The 2009 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing and storied cricket rivalry between England and Australia, and was part of the Australian cricket tour of England in 2009. Starting on 8 July 2009, England and Australia played five Tests, with England winning the series 2–1...
on SBS with Damien Martyn
Damien Martyn
Damien Richard Martyn is a former Australian cricketer. He played for the national team sporadically in 1992–1994 before becoming a regular ODI player in 1999–2000 and a regular Test player in 2001 until his retirement in late 2006...
and Greg Matthews
Greg Matthews
Gregory Richard John "Mo" Matthews is a former New South Wales and Australian cricketer who is now a television cricket commentator....
. MacGill was a radio co-host on the Triple M Sydney breakfast program, The Grill Team
Grill Team
The Grill Team is an Australian breakfast radio show that broadcasts weekday mornings from 6 am to 9 am AEST on Triple M Sydney. It commenced broadcasting on 17 August 2009....
from 2009 until 2010.
Early years
MacGill was born in the PerthPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
suburb of Mount Lawley
Mount Lawley, Western Australia
Mount Lawley is an inner suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Most of the suburb lies within the Local Government Area of the City of Stirling and small portions are in the City of Vincent and City of Bayswater...
and began his first-class career in the 1993/94 season playing for Western Australia
Western Warriors
The Western Australia cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team representing the state of Western Australia...
. He managed just one game, against New South Wales at the SCG but did not take a wicket and did not play again for over two years. When he returned in 1996/97 it was for New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
and he took 6 wickets in the match, the first being Darren Berry
Darren Berry
Darren Shane Berry is a former Australian cricketer who was known for his sharp skills as a wicketkeeper with Victoria in the Sheffield Shield and ING Cup domestic competitions...
. He finished the season with 16 wickets at 37.00.
He spent the English summer playing club cricket in Devon, for Tiverton CC, and played a game for Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
against the touring Pakistan A side.
1997/98 was the breakthrough season for MacGill, he made his Test debut and finished with 35 wickets at 28.14 in the Sheffield Shield.
Test career
In the 3rd Test against South Africa at Adelaide in January 1998, MacGill was selected as Australia's second spinner and helped them to draw the match with 3 for 22 in the second innings. He next appeared in October of that year for a tour of Pakistan, finishing the series as Australia's top wicket taker with 15 victims at 27.46.MacGill kept his spot in the side when they returned home for an Ashes series, again finishing as Australia's most successful bowler with 27 wickets at 17.70. His tally included his then career best innings figures of 7 for 50, made in the 5th Test at Sydney. He took a total of 12 wickets in that match and had done enough to convince the selectors to use two spinners for their tour of the West Indies.
After taking just 12 wickets from the four Tests he was dropped from the side, only returning when Australia hosted the West Indies in 2000/01. In a series whitewash, all the Australian bowlers bar MacGill, who took 16 wickets at 31.31, managed to average under 20 with the ball.
He played his next Test in January 2002 against South Africa, taking 7 wickets. With Warne unavailable for the 4th and 5th Tests of the 2002/03 Ashes series, MacGill came in and despite taking 12 wickets he averaged over 40.
With Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
serving a drugs ban, MacGill returned to the Caribbean in 2003 and for the next year acted as Australia's sole spinner. In the 11 Tests that he played, including the Caribbean tour, he took 53 wickets. He played series against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and India.
Sri Lanka toured Australia in 2004 and despite Warne returning to the side MacGill kept his spot. He struggled throughout the Test series and took just 5 wickets at 46.40. He lost his spot in the side and over the next year and a half played just two Tests, both on the spin friendly SCG wicket. The first was against Pakistan and his 8 wickets earned his the Man of the Match award. The second was against the ICC World XI and he managed 9 wickets.
Warne retired from Test cricket at the end of the 2006-07 Ashes series
2006-07 Ashes series
The 2006–07 cricket series between Australia and England for the Ashes was played in Australia from 23 November 2006 to 5 January 2007. Australia won the series and regained the Ashes that had been lost to England in the 2005 Ashes series...
, although MacGill faced competition for a place in the side from several younger players. MacGill was never a serious contender for the One Day International team, and has since retired from that form of the game. MacGill announced that he would retire after the 2nd Test against the West Indies.
Personal life
MacGill's father, Terry MacGill, and grandfather, Charlie MacGillCharlie MacGill
Charles William Terry "Charlie" MacGill was an Australian cricketer. He played six for Western Australia between 1939 and 1951. MacGill also served with the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II...
, both played cricket for Western Australia.
MacGill is married to journalist Rachel Friend
Rachel Friend
-Career:Friend joined the cast of the soap opera Neighbours in 1988, when she was eighteen. Friend chose to postpone her university degree to join the show as Bronwyn Davies. Friend quit Neighbours in 1990. That same year saw her win the Logie Award for "Most Popular Actress".Other roles have...
.
MacGill is noted as a thinker who has a fondness for wine and books, once reading 24 novels during a tour of Pakistan. Known for his individuality, he was the only Australian Cricketer to declare himself unavailable to tour Zimbabwe in 2004 on moral grounds. He also refused to appear in an advertisement for Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia, formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board, is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket...
sponsor KFC
KFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
, claiming that “The problem for me is that KFC and Cricket Australia are hitting parents where they’re vulnerable. Parents are already under a lot of pressure from kids to buy this stuff and when you get the Australian cricket team endorsing it you just increase that pressure. It’s just wrong in so many ways."