Italian beauty Sara Leonardi is Aussie CRICKET hero Glenn McGrath's new love

Italian beauty Sara Leonardi

CRICKET hero Glenn McGrath has found love again - 18 months after losing his wife Jane to breast cancer.

The father of two has fallen for Italian beauty Sara Leonardi, a 28-year-old he met while overseas late last year.

"Glenn is happy for people to know he has a girlfriend," his agent Warren Craig said yesterday. "He's happy and so are his children."

McGrath, who turns 40 next week, was photographed for the first time with Sara having dinner in Double Bay on Tuesday evening.

They happily posed for photographs and were laughing and looking very much in love.

News of his two-month relationship will warm the hearts of a nation that has adopted the McGrath family after Jane's courageous, decade-long fight with breast cancer.

McGrath's dignity in the weeks following Jane's death in June 2008 and his devotion to her charity and their children have made him one of the country's most admired men.

He is seen almost daily in the Sutherland Shire, behind the wheel of his Hummer - with his famous nickname "Pigeon" on pink number plates - ferrying daughter Holly and son James to and from school. Since Jane's death, McGrath has worked tirelessly for her foundation to help raise more than $ 10 million; enough to employ 53 specialised breast cancer nurses across the country.

Many of his former teammates and senior Australian cricket figures have been aware of his girlfriend since the Sydney Test match last month.

Sara did not attend the Test, which honoured Jane, preferring a low profile at this stage of the relationship. It is understood she moved to Australia to be with McGrath at the end of last year.

"Both of them are just trying to keep things as normal as possible and don't wish to talk about it or do any major interviews at this stage," Mr Craig said.

He would not comment when asked if Sara was living with McGrath and the children.

McGrath's journey from Jane's death to his new love has had many challenging and emotional moments which he has rarely spoken about.

Even his closest friends were never sure how he was faring emotionally.

But it's also had its highs - at the most unexpected moments - such as one of his tougher days when he was driving to the cricket last year.

"This car pulled up and a man said, 'We love what you are doing (for breast cancer)', and handed me a $ 100 note through the window for the foundation and drove off," he said.

SOURCE: www.dailytelegraph.com.au

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