Australia’s legendary cricketer Glenn McGrath has called for an all-pace attack to demolish India in the December 4 opening Test of the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Brisbane.

McGrath’s recommendation goes against the grain of cricket, at least contemporary cricket, which has moved on from the no-spinners-in-our-team West Indies era. It also does not do any good for the mindset of his country’s spinners. On one hand, Cricket Australia is trying to improve their spin resources. On the other, their greats like McGrath don’t want spin to play a role at the start of an important series. What is disappointing is that McGrath is writing off the Indian batting line-up even before the first ball of the series is bowled. The lack of respect for India is evident in most of the pre-series reports.