Glenn McGrath was renowned for his unerring accuracy during his cricketing career, a trait that came in handy in a wild moment in his family home.
McGrath, 53, posted a series of videos and photos to Instagram on Thursday showing a new-found skill – snake wrangling.
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Growing up in Narromine in regional NSW, it is likely a young McGrath encountered a snake or two and he seemed unperturbed by the unwelcome visitors to his home.
There were in fact three snakes in his house, which the former fast bowler identified as carpet pythons, and he was able to safely remove all three.
And he did it all wearing a pair of thongs to go with his trackies and t-shirt.
McGrath’s wife Sara filmed the removal of one of the snakes and it’s fair to say she was not quite as calm and collected as her husband.
“That one’s aggro, that one is aggro,” she is heard yelling while she films her husband, who is armed only with a mop.
“I don’t want to be videoing this. You’re going to get bit, you’re going to get bit!”
But it appears that all’s well that ends well, with McGrath adding a caption to the video when it was posted, including a little dig at his wife of 12 years and his own footwear.
“After plenty of encouragement & support from @saraleonmcgrath all 3 Coastal Carpet Pythons that were in the house were safely released back into the bush #carpetpython #snakecatcher #notthebestfootwear.”
The moment wasn’t all smooth sailing, with the snake seen lunging towards McGrath a couple of times.
But the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame inductee took it all in his stride, holding onto the snake by the tail after a couple of attempts and escorting it out of the house.
“Keeping a good line and length between self and snake! Good work!” wrote one Instagram user, referencing the most famous attributes from McGrath’s bowling career.
His former fast-bowling partner Brett Lee simply wrote “yes Pidge” with a series of handclap emojis and a snake emoji.
McGrath was known as “Pigeon” during his playing days.
Adam Hollioake, another former cricketer, wrote: “Good technique mate. Steve Irwin couldn’t have done it better.”
There was one cautionary tale, however, coming from the page of a group called Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers.
“I would hate to be the fun police here,” the comment began. “But please call a professional snake catcher next time @glennmcgrath11.
“In Australia, it’s illegal to catch and relocate snakes without the government permits, insurance and experience! Thanks.”
McGrath is regarded as one of cricket’s greatest ever bowlers, taking 563 wickets from his 124-Test career and winning three consecutive One-Day World Cups from 1999-2007.
