Pigeon soars over Akram

Playing in his last international event, 37-year-old McGrath has 57 wickets in 33 World Cup games. Akram, who retired after the last World Cup in 2003, claimed 55 in 38 matches.

“When you’re playing long enough you’re going to get a record here or there but Wasim Akram to me is one of the best bowlers of all time. To go past him is something pretty special,” McGrath said. “I just tried to mix it up and it came out pretty well for me.” The three dismissals boosted his ODI tally to 367 in 244 games.

McGrath has a tournament-high 12 in five matches at this World Cup, which is his farewell outing for Australia.

Skipper Ricky Ponting said McGrath had been bowling exceptionally well from the start of this visit to the Caribbean. “He’s going to be one of our trump cards when the bigger games come up in a few weeks time,” Ponting said.

“I’m really pleased for him to get this record. We’ve had a few guys who have moved on of late. It’d be nice to have Glenn go on for a bit longer.”

McGrath has already quit Test cricket with a haul of 563 wickets from 124 matches, making him the most successful pace bowler in the history of the game. Only spinners Shane Warne of Australia and Muttiah Muralitharan from Sri Lanka are ahead of him.

Meanwhile Akram went on to hail McGrath’s feat of breaking his record, saying he wanted to congratulate his all-time favourite.

“I just want to pass on my best wishes and say ‘mate you deserve all the records that cricket offers.’ I am relieved that a bowler of McGrath’s calibre has broked my record,” Wasim said.

“I consider McGrath and (former West Indies star) Malcolm Marshall as two all-time greats and I think they were a cut above the rest. McGrath is the complete bowler — physically and mentally.”