Former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson said that the ball-tampering episode in Cape Town really became global news. “When the Newlands event broke, it made the back pages of Le Figaro and L'Équipe. And I got a call from Istanbul Radio asking me, “What do you make of ball-tampering?’’
These events went around the globe,’’ said Lawson while addressing a select audience at the second edition of the Rajsingh Dungarpur Spirit of Cricket Lecture at the C.K.Nayudu Hall, Cricket Club of India here on Monday.
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Lawson spoke for a little over half an hour, mainly on the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Spirit of Cricket preamble, emphaising on the tampering saga that became the talking point during the South Africa-Australia Test series.
When asked if Cricket Australia will review the 12-month ban on Steve Smith, Lawson said: “CA has decided on the ban and they will stick to it. Even if they change it, I dont think he (Smith) will change. He has said he deserved it, that he will take his penance and move on in 12 months time. Smith is a very shy naive sort, he's a nice guy. He wants to play cricket, does not like media. Steve is taking his medicine. At the end of it all, this will be positive for Australian cricket.’’
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Responding to ECB’s decision to introduce the 100-ball competition in 2020, Lawson said: “We never thought 20-over cricket will be effective. I don't know whether it’s good for the game. As I say, suck it and see. I have to see it being played. Bowlers have been excluded from the game (Twenty20). It ridicules (the bowlers), it's not a contest anymore. We need to get the bowlers back in the game. In Big Bash League, the bowlers have a bit more chance because of the bounce in the pitch and bigger boundaries.’’
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