McGrath opts for waiting

Faced with the choice of taking his 500th Test wicket at a packed house of 30,000 at Lord's, the home of cricket, or in an empty New Zealand rugby ground, and the answer was obvious for ageless Australian paceman Glenn McGrath.

McGrath ended the third Test against New Zealand stranded one short of the landmark on 499 Test wickets before a handful of spectators at Eden Park here Tuesday.

Australia's next Test isn't until the Ashes series against England at Lord's in London in July.

"As a cricketer, there is no better place (than Lord's) to take a major milestone like 500 wickets," said McGrath who lies fourth on the all-time Test wicket-takers list behind teammate Shane Warne's 583, Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan's 532 and West Indian Courtney Walsh's 519.

The 35-year-old had a chance of reaching 500 against New Zealand, but to keep his hopes alive of doing it in that match he would have had to drop a lofted catch from Daniel Vettori.

With 498 dismissals in the bag and two New Zealand wickets remaining, McGrath was fielding at deep mid-off when Vettori skied a ball from Shane Warne.

As McGrath waited for the lofted ball to come down, he knew to hold on to it would mean the end of his 500 dream -- at least for the time being.

"I actually gave myself about 40 per cent chance of catching it. I wasn't too safe under it but it stuck."

McGrath, whose wife Jane flew over from Australia on Monday night to be present for the potential milestone, then bowled Paul Wiseman to end the New Zealand innings and claim his 499th Test scalp.

He has already named England opener Andrew Strauss as his Ashes series target, but said there was no preference for number 500 as long as it happened quickly.

"Hopefully one of their openers, and in the first over would be even better. We'll have to wait and see. I haven't really targeted anyone yet but it will be out of two blokes."