McGrath made his debut in 1995 and was capped in 1999. He spent a year as captain in 2003 before stepping down to concentrate on his international career. He had a successful 2006 season hitting 1,293 first-class runs at an average of over 60. But he became disillusioned by the direction the club was taking after it only narrowly avoided relegation from County Championship Division One. It was only after Darren Gough's appointment as Yorkshire captain, and the major signings of Jacques Rudolph and Younis Khan that McGrath became convinced Yorkshire shared his ambitions and he decided to stay. He then declared himself delighted with the new situation at Yorkshire and hoped to stay for as long as possible.