Like Warne, who took his 300th wicket in the corresponding Test 12 months ago, McGrath would have been delighted that he claimed such a significant milestone with a top-class victim. Throughout McGrath's career he has turned series by dominating the best batsmen in the opposition, as with Brian Lara in both Australia and the Caribbean.

Imran Khan once said: ``You judge a man by the quality of his opponents.'' In McGrath's case, if you judge him by his victims, he is a high-ranking fast bowler.

If you want further proof of his quality, he reached his milestone in his 45th Test, five quicker than Jeff Thomson and three slower than Shane Warne. To put his feat into proper perspective, it took him 100 more balls than Thomson and, as you would expect in comparison with a spinner, he beat Warne to the punch by about 1,800 deliveries.

How important is McGrath to Australia's cause? Under Mark Taylor's captaincy Australia have lost only two series (excluding the one-off Test in Delhi), both when McGrath did not play.

There is no doubting McGrath's bowling, but what is he like as a person? He is thoughtful, smart and quietly spoken with a good sense of humour, probably not qualities that are easily recognised from 22 yards.

He has a sense of knowing where he is going and, like all good country boys, he hasn't forgotten his roots. A lot of the money he has made from terrorising batsmen, he has invested in a huge property, which is literally, as the old Australian saying goes, 'out the back o' Bourke'.

He says he will probably never live there, but he visits the property as often as he can. As a man of the land, McGrath would be satisfied with his harvest so far.