Wife of cricket ace dies aged 42

An air stewardess from the Black Country who won the heart of Aussie cricket legend Glenn McGrath has died aged 42 following a battle with breast cancer.

Jane McGrath, of Brownhills, started another round of chemotherapy in 2006 following similar treatments in 1997 and 2003 but died yesterday.

It is understood the couple, who met at a cricket social in Hong Kong in 1985, were introduced by the former Warwickshire captain and Somerset manager Dermot Reeve.

Within a few months she had given up her job as a Virgin Atlantic air stewardess and moved to Sydney to be with McGrath.

Such was the fondness the Australian public had for Mrs McGrath, the country's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd paid tribute to her in parliament.

"It's with great sadness that the nation reflects on the passing of Jane McGrath yesterday," Rudd said in the country's parliament today.