OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 11.00am
FORMER South African cricket coach Bob Woolmer said Ashley Mallett has been ”grossly unfair” in casting doubts over the integrity of the South African cricket team.
Mallett, an ex-Australian Test off-spinner who was an adviser to the South Africans during their tour of Australia in 1997-98, said on Tuesday ”something wasn’t right” about South Africa’s attitude and tactics during the Sydney test of that series, which Australia won by an innings and 21 runs.
Mallett highlighted veteran off-spinner Pat Symcox’s defensive bowling tactics and now-disgraced former captain Hansie Cronje’s field settings for Symcox.
”We were beaten fair and square in that test, and the reason we lost was because of Shane Warne, not Symcox,” said Woolmer, who was South African coach at the time.
Warne, the Australian leg-spinner ranked in the top five players of the past century, took 11 wickets in the game including his 300th test victim.
Australian captain Steve Waugh, who was vice-captain during that series, said he was ”quite astounded by these allegations.” ”I know after that game I had sore ribs, a sore wrist and sore legs from the battering that Allan Donald gave me,” said Waugh, who made 85 in Australia’s first innings total of 421.
Cronje has admitted taking money from an Indian bookmaker for giving out information, but denies any involvement in match-fixing.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday banned former Pakistan captain Salim Malik from cricket for life for involvement in matchfixing. This followed allegations by Mark Waugh and Warne relating to Australia’s tour of Pakistan in 1994. — Reuters