Sport

Losses made us hungry for success

We can still raise our performance by a few notches, writes Glenn McGrath

In 1996 we made it to the final and in 1999 we won the World Cup but only after losing a couple of games. In 2003, we went on to win the World Cup again, but this time we were undefeated through the tournament.

I will stick my neck out and say this — we will win in 2007 undefeated, and by big margins, if we continue to dominate the opposition as we have in the last two games.

We could not have asked for a better fortnight to start our World Cup campaign, and the good news is that we can still raise our performance by a few notches. Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds and Michael Hussey have not yet got going; we have not bowled first yet and hence have not been able to exploit the swing in the morning.

Looking back at the string of losses that preceded our World Cup campaign, it could not have happened at a better time. It gave us a point to prove, and made us hungry for success.

Not fully prepared

I did not offer excuses at that time, but we were not fully prepared for some of those days, and we were all playing with one eye on the World Cup. The games also had very short gaps, and considering it was after a gruelling Australian summer, we did not have enough time between games either.

Things are different at the World Cup. We have a schedule in which the games are well spread out. The old limbs have some time to recover from one game, and that is why we looked so fresh against South Africa and the West Indies.

The standout performance so far has been Matthew Hayden. He is amazing when he gets into this kind of form. He was awesome against the South Africans, and against the West Indies, he let the bowlers win the first round before coming into his own.

Amazing comeback

He really bullies the bowlers once he gets in, and is really hard to dismiss because he has rock-solid technique to back his brute power. It has been a truly amazing comeback for him. He was out of the one-day team for the better part of last year, but I knew it was only a matter of time before he came back to the top of the order. His time away from the side has kept him fresh, fit and above all hungry.

We are up against Bangladesh next. On paper, it looks to be a more relaxed outing for us, but we will have to stamp our authority on the game at the start itself, like Sri Lanka did.

Young side

They are a young side that is not yet equipped to dominate, but if the opposition is either complacent or negative in their approach, Bangladesh has the ability to creep up and surprise you.

The Indians were very tentative and circumspect in their opening game, and paid the price. We will look to dominate from the start just as Sri Lanka did, because with less experienced teams that is the way to go.

I need just two wickets to overtake Wasim Akram as the top wicket-taker in World Cups. I am a huge admirer of Wasim. What he could do with the new ball as well as the old was amazing.

Besides, he had could generate great pace even from a short run-up. I have never seen a bowler like him in my career, and if I overtake him, it does not mean I have surpassed his complete mastery over pace bowling.

Gameplan

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