KEY POINTS:
Stuart Mcgill is a wine buff who has forever been denied the chance of a vintage year.
Why? Shane Warne.
As the headlines now record, McGill has been given a belated chance to step out of the retired Warne's shadow as Australia's premier leg spinner.
Denied his full
chance at a test career by one of the greats of the game, McGill will now face the risk of suffering by comparison with Warne's 708-wicket tally, his extraordinary influence on the game, and his place in Australian lore.
It is a story that resonates through the ages, where a champion's career leaves another, or many others, in the shade.
In many cases though, perception actually overshadows reality.
In McGill's case, he has been bowled over by Warne to a point, but has already cast a fairly large shadow himself.
With 200 wickets in 41 tests, he is the 12th most successful Australian test bowler in history and rising.
As a comparison, McGill's test haul is bettered by only three New Zealand bowlers and puts him close to the top 10 English bowlers.
He also bowled particularly well when paired with Warne, although the Australian selectors usually shied away from using this twin spin option. McGill has been no shrinking violet either, providing plenty of good copy for the media thanks to a maverick personality.
And yet, when all is said and done, he will always figure as an adjunct to Warne's career. Here are a few other sportsmen who were faced with the task of stepping out of the shadows, some managing to do so more successfully than others.
Norm Hewitt and Warren Gatland
Might as well start on home turf. Sean Fitzpatrick owned the All Black hooker's berth for a touch over a decade, sending men remembered and long forgotten to their sporting grave.
Hewitt and Gatland were the most memorable of those who waited in the wings. Hewitt managed a handful of test appearances but is firmly trapped in Fitzy folklore after displaying his frustration with a grumpy second-half departure down the sideline in Cardiff in 1997. Coach John Hart had subbed Fitzpatrick for Hewitt, and you could only sympathise with the departing No. 2. The test was hardly in the balance - New Zealand led 32-0 and Fitzpatrick wasn't exactly in need of the experience. Gatland didn't even get as far as Hewitt. In a 17-game All Black career, he never played a test. As a world-class coach now, Gatland must shake his head as every Tom, Dick and Harry gets a test chance.
Peter Shilton
Some men - or in this case a boy - are not prepared to waste any time in the wake of a great. Leicester City's goalkeeper of the 1960s was Gordon Banks, a legendary figure.
Banks was partly responsible for alerting his club to the talents of a 13-year-old named Peter Shilton. Four years later, the youthful Shilts delivered a knockout punch to Banks' City career. He demanded: either Banks departed, or Shilton would head elsewhere. Incredibly, Leicester sent Banks packing.
This was just a year after he had been part of England's 1966 World Cup triumph - and it was three years before he made what is often called the greatest save ever, from a Pele header in the 1970 World Cup finals.
Shilton went on to become one of the greats over an incredibly long career, but the misty-eyed, mindful of the 1966 triumph, would probably rank Banks ahead of Shilton as the ultimate English goalkeeper.
Mark Brunell and plenty of others
Brett Favre has owned the position of being the Green Bay Packers' starting quarterback since 1992, so it goes without saying there has been a string of also-rans who hardly ever threw.
Remarkably, Favre is said to have become great mates with two or three of his deputies, although he is not one to pass on his vast knowledge. Look and learn has been their best education. There have been around a dozen major back-ups during that time including flamboyant Jim McMahon, the fur-lined star of the great Chicago Bears team of the mid-1980s. Mark Brunell, the 1994 deputy, went on to have a more than handy career.
As for the star turn among these men from the shadows?
It has to be one J. T. O'Sullivan, whose entire on-field contribution over three seasons was to take part in two kneel-downs, American football's version of a time-wasting voluntary tackle.
It has been impossible finding out what kind of salary J. T. pulled in for this, but no doubt he was a well-heeled kneeler.
Scottie Pippen
My nomination as the greatest sporting shadow man in history. All the evidence suggests Pippen was one of basketball's greats, yet no one can really work out if he was or not. The reason? Michael Jordan. Pippen will go down as maybe the greatest support act for the game's most fabulous player. Unlike others whose careers have been trumped by another, Pippen got to play alongside his superior.
Jordan's Chicago Bulls may be the most extraordinary phenomenon in sport. M. J. dragged in millions of fans and was so famous that people everywhere knew what number vest he wore. There are plenty of these fans who couldn't care less about basketball since No. 23 departed. Pippen was a terrific all-rounder, yet the suspicion remains that Jordan elevated Pippen beyond his true status.
When Jordan quit to play baseball for a couple of seasons, the Bulls stopped winning, even though Pippen produced the goods. And when Jordan came back, the Bulls won titles again.
To be fair to Pippen, Jordan was SO big and SO good that all of sport was left bedazzled by his achievements.
Pippen once refused to take part in a critical play when coach Phil Jackson handed the lead role to another player. Despite a career full of success, this hinted at frustrations within.
Mark Waugh
I've included him purely for that famous nickname, Afghanistan - which stood for the forgotten Waugh (war).
The Aussie cricketer had to watch his twin brother Steve in the Australian side for five seasons before he got his chance, ironically in place of his out-of-form sibling. The nickname didn't stick because the gifted Mark fashioned a superb career of his own. But the elegant batter and superb catcher never approached the mantle of greatness bestowed on his more obdurate brother. Whatever the judgements on their careers, Afghanistan remains a fabulous handle and maybe the best in history to describe a sportsman once consigned to the shadows.
Patrick Mcenroe
A Davis Cup captain, but who cares. He was and will always be better known as John McEnroe's brother.
Golfers these days. All of them.
While Tiger prowls golf's manicured jungles.
David Fairclough
Fairclough ended up living in the shadow of his nickname, super-sub. The flame-haired forward emerged with the great Liverpool team of the 1970s, but others, like John Toshack, Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush hogged the glory. Fairclough ended his Liverpool days starting and still scoring - in the reserves. He is probably the most famous soccer substitute ever. He repeatedly scored critical goals coming off the bench. He actually had 90-odd starts for Liverpool compared to 60 substitute appearances, but the super sub name stuck. Fairclough may have been a little miffed by this tag but Liverpool fans have voted him one of their all-time favourites. These days, players left on the bench are more famous for their bank balance than goal tallies.
