McGain happy to wait for his Baggy Green dream

Bryce McGain, the only member of the Australian touring party to yet earn a Test cap, is happy waiting for his turn but with Australia having already wrapped up the series 2-0, the 36-year old may finally get the coveted Baggy Green when the third Test gets underway on March 19 at Cape Town. 

McGain was overlooked for the first two Tests in the ongoing series as Australia fielded its most inexperienced team and yet emerged victorious beating the hosts, South Africa, convincingly. Marcus North’s part time off spinners were preferred in the opening Test in Johannesburg and Simon Katich’s left arm wrist spin were employed in the Durban Test. 

A full-time bank employee for 17 years, McGain is just two weeks away from turning 37. After having already waited so much, the leggie does not mind waiting a bit more. 

The Newlands pitch is traditionally flat and offers turn and with the series in the bag, there is a possibility that McGain will be tried to asses his bowling before the Ashes. 

However, McGain's Test hopes face a hurdle in the form of opening batsman Simon Katich, whose three-wicket haul in South Africa's second innings served as a reminder of his potential with his left-arm wrist-spinners. 

"Of course I'd love to be playing - that's what we all want to do and play our role on the field. But if my role at the moment is running drinks around, that's okay, I'm happy to do it at the moment," McGain said. 

"As conditions change, the team make-up might change. Looking forward it's probably going to be hard to change a winning combination, they're doing so well." 

With Simon Katich's occasional spin claiming three key scalps in the second Test, the selectors may consider adding a full-time spinner to the starting eleven for the third and final Test at Newlands but, for now, McGain is happy to share in the success of his teammates. 

"I'm rapt for [Katich]. I'm as excited as he is," he enthused. 

"I guess that's the way I am. If I don't get a chance, well, I don't get a chance. I can't control that. But I know that if I do get the chance I'm going to grab it with both hands and do the very best I can. I'll be mentally nice and clear in my mind what I need to do." 

After suffering a series loss at home against the South Africans, the team suffered a barrage of criticism, but McGain insists the players always knew they could turn things around. 

"We haven't really been following the press back home but we understand now that there were some murmurings that maybe we were the worst group to go away," he said. 

"I know that there was a lot of belief in the group before we went and it's just a good bunch of cricketers. We've played against each other domestically for a long time. We knew everyone had the talent to put it all together."