Former great Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath has said he deeply regrets shooting African animals – despite speaking about wanting to do so two years before.

He is facing a wave of angry criticism after pictures showing him with dead African wildlife began circulating online. The photographs of McGrath, who is known to enjoy hunting, were found by searching Chipitani Safaris, a game park in South Africa, but they have subsequently been removed from the website.

They show the former fast bowler crouched beside what looks like a dead buffalo, two hyenas and posing with the tusks of an elephant.

The story has made big news in Australia, with fellow retired fast bowler Brett Lee also implicated. Daily Mail Australia published a photograph of Lee placing his hand on the carcass of a dead and bloodied animal on the back of a truck, next to McGrath and two boys.

Lee’s spokesman confirmed to the Daily Mail that ‘yes, that photo was taken on a farm in South Africa’.

See some talk show reaction here on Australian TV by clicking below.