At the end of his recent stint as radio commentator on the Australia vs India series, Ex Pakistani Coach Geoff Lawson, spoke with PakPassion.netregarding the phenomenal rise and transformation of the current Australian team this summer and spoke candidly on the fortunes of the Pakistani team in light of their exceptional series victory against England in Abu Dhabi.

By Haroon Khan (30th January 2011)

PakPassion.net: How impressed are you with the new breed of Australian quick bowlers, especially in light of their performances this summer [against India]? 

Geoff Lawson: They’ve been excellent and we have sort of gone from the feeling that we need to discover people left, right and centre, and the disappointment of last year’s Ashes to finally have 5 or 6 guys who are pretty good. So it’s very promising for Australia. They’ve all bowled well, particularly this summer in Australia. The bowlers have been a consistent group and they’ve been responsible for the victories.

PakPassion.net: You have mentioned the bowling strength of the Australian second team could be just as strong with the likes of Cummins, Starc and Mitchell Johnson to return, what about in the batting department for Australia?

Geoff Lawson: Perhaps that’s a little bit different. That’s where we’ve introduced a few new young players and they haven’t quite been as consistent but, they have looked promising. Warner can be brilliant, but he needs to be more consistent. Cowan looks steady. Marsh of course, who in August-September was the new young star - at the moment he can’t get a run! The other guys, who were almost dropped, have come back into form. Ideally you would probably want it the other way around. The depth in the batting is not quite as strong as perhaps it was in the 1990s when guys like Bevan and Martyn and these sort of players couldn’t get into the team. Hopefully there will be a few young guys come along. Seems to be the bowling is in a much better situation than the batting at the moment.

PakPassion.net: Coming into this series, the Aussies had just come off a loss to New Zealand and they had that shocker in South Africa when they collapsed to 47 all out, whereas India were coming into this series on the back of a 4-0 drubbing against England over there as well. While the Aussies did win comprehensively in the end, do you think the result is a true reflection of how far Australia have come and how much the team has improved?

Geoff Lawson: It’s hard to tell isn’t it because India should have been much better. That batting lineup theoretically is the best batting lineup in world cricket. But they’ve lost comprehensively to England, and they just don’t seem to be able to play well away from home, so it’s hard to tell. Once again you need to give the bowlers the credit as they are the ones who have stopped these guys making big scores. Perspective wise, the bowlers have done a great job, and I think everyone knows Australia can get better – that’s the good thing. With India, it’s hard to draw a firm line through them because really since they won the World Cup, almost from that week onwards they’ve gone downhill.

PakPassion.net: With the results that have just happened over in the Middle East, with England possibly on the down and Australia on the up. If we had the Ashes tomorrow, how do you think the teams will fare?

Geoff Lawson: Obviously, England have lost easily, but it’s January and they are the middle of the off-season, so they need to find a bit of form. Still to get bowled out for 72, is pretty poor stuff. It would be hard to say who would be the favourites. Depending on where they play I guess. If you played in Australia, Australia would probably be the favourite and in England, England. Certainly, it seems to be a huge turnaround from last year’s Ashes where England absolutely thrashed Australia.

PakPassion.net: Did you get a chance to watch the end of the Pakistan – England test match in Abu Dhabi?

Geoff Lawson: I watched most of the wickets falling.

PakPassion.net: What did you make of Pakistan’s performance yesterday against England with them bowling England out whilst defending such a small total?

Geoff Lawson: I predicted that they would win the series before it started. I just think Pakistan has been playing some terrific cricket, particularly under Misbah. I have been saying for several years that he should have been the captain. They play very consistently and he’s a great leader and tactically he is outstanding. Obviously the players have a lot of respect for him, and it seems to be that everyone is playing for the team and no one is playing for themselves, which you couldn’t say that for a lot of past Pakistan teams. They are all playing for the team and they are well led, and they’re playing pretty skillfully with Saeed Ajmal bowling well.

As for Abdur Rehman, I always thought he was a good bowler and he is now becoming a match-winner as well. It’s just a very good combination. There are a couple of good young batsmen who are making some runs, looking like they will be excellent players into the future.

Look, Pakistan have played some tough cricket recently and have benefited from that coming into this series. As opposed to England who are playing in their off-season basically. But it’s a terrific series win, you’ve beaten the top team in the world. It’s a great feather in your cap.

PakPassion.net: Do you think Pakistan could challenge for the No. 1 spot?

Geoff Lawson: Yes, but they’ve got to obviously win away from home. They are on the rise, and there is no doubt about that. The key is to be consistent, and they got some good seam bowlers, some excellent spin bowlers and some batsmen who are hard to get out. Yes, they are heading in the right direction, but considering this is a home series, they have just got to win away from home, and they’ll go up the rankings pretty quickly. It is quite an exciting time for World Cricket, with all the different changes in the form of the top sides, with the bottom sides coming good. I think it’s terrific for test cricket. Pakistan were ranked 5th/6th and now they’ve beaten the No. 1 side.

PakPassion.net: There is obviously a lot of talk in Pakistan about a change in coach. What do you make of that? They are winning consistently under the current interim coach Mohsin Khan, and obviously you being an ex-coach of Pakistan, do you think it is the right time to be thinking of changing coaches?

Geoff Lawson: The performance of the team recently is down to Misbah Ul Haq. Mohsin Khan will be doing nothing. I am quite aware of what his capabilities are, from the time I was coach of the Pakistan team. He was in charge of the National Academy in Karachi and not very 'cluey' in his job. This is down to Misbah and his senior players and his organisation. I still think if Pakistan wants to go ahead, they still need a quality coach. Dav Whatamore is the right person. I heard a minister say they are not going to pay him, but he will be terrific for them. Right now, he will work very well with Misbah and take them to another level which they will not get to with Mohsin Khan sitting in the chair. I am sure Mohsin’s not really providing too much. I think if they want to go to the next level up, they definitely need someone like Dav.

PakPassion.net: Thoughts for the final test match?

Geoff Lawson: I think if Pakistan win’s 3-0, I think South Africa will finish No. 1 when the rankings are over in April. So England will lose their No. 1 if they lose the next test. So they have got a lot to play for in Dubai next week.

  Discuss!