Published: Dec 22, 2013, 04:25 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 22, 2013, 04:59 PM (IST)
Sydney: Dec 22, 2013
Former Australian cricketer Geoff Lawson has said that a 5-0 whitewash of the England team in the Ashes would give Australia a perfect opportunity to set the standard for domination in the world scene.
Lawson compared the current tour with the 1989 tour of England, which the visitors lost 4-0 to an underdog Australian team, and said that Australia should not remove their boot from England’ throat and grab with both hands the opportunity to have payback against England and move towards world number one, just like Allan Border”s team did in 1989.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Lawson said that the England of 1989 was demoralised by the manner of its defeats and decimated by South African rebel tour defections, adding that it would be 16 years before it would regroup while Australia went on to become the No 1 ranked Test team. Stating that the ”steel core” of the current England team is ”rusting to feebleness”, Lawson also said that captain Michael Clarke has the chance to copy Border’s act in 1989 and whitewash England, although he warned that Australia then has to confront South Africa on its home veldt in a test of standard not delivered by England.
However, Lawson further said that coach Darren Lehmann has two challenges in the coming months, the first concerns keeping his charges sufficiently motivated to clean sweep England, and regaining domination over South Africa, which would be difficult as South Africa is currently top of the Test ladder.
