Woolmer sees silver lining in tampering cloud

Like the match-fixing scandal, this will help the ICC put in place a preventive system, says Pak coach

Hours before Pakistan took the field against England in Bristol, ending a week-long impasse, their coach Bob Woolmer hoped that the ball-tampering controversy might actually end up doing good for the game8212;it may force the ICC to put in place a firewall.

8220;The match-fixing scandal helped the ICC put in place a system to prevent it from happening any further. I am sure, even the ball-tampering issue will also leave a good legacy eventually,8217;8217; Woolmer told The Indian Express over phone.

The former South Africa coach8217;s line of hope springs from the way the series of controversies he has been involved in, during a colourful career, have ended up.

He first smudged his Test graph by signing for the Kerry Packer World Series in 1970. Twelve years later, he was on England8217;s rebel tour of South Africa in 1981-82. And in 2000, just when he was sitting pretty as South Africa coach, his players, and good friend Hansie Cronje, got involved in the match-fixing scandal. Now, it8217;s Pakistan and ball-tampering.

8220;Either I am plain unlucky or in the wrong place at the wrong time,8217;8217; said Woolmer. 8220;But suffice it to say that most good things have stemmed out of crises that I8217;ve been involved in. The Packer series left a huge legacy. It almost saved cricket from unseen risks of boredom and slow death. In the long run, it has only benefitted the game on the larger front. The rebel tour to South Africa helped speed up a change that was fast needed at that time in 8216;81, 8216;828230; Cricket is such a great game which creates diverse views with what happens. Eventually it leaves a mark, and in my case, it8217;s been mostly for the good,8217;8217; he added.

However, Woolmer refused to speak out on former match referee Barry Jarman8217;s charge that his South African team tampered with the ball against India during a one-day match in 1997.

8220;To say the least, I don8217;t want to discuss it. There8217;s already been a lot to take care of. As far as I can remember, the series between India and South Africa, in 1997, was an evenly contested one,8221; he said.

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Today, Woolmer is not really worried over the Oval fallout. 8220;There are things that the ICC should and will, eventually, notice. That will certainly mark another good noticeable change in the game,8217;8217; he said, referring to Law 42.3 in the ICC rule book, which he incidentally called an 8220;ass8221; recently.

And, with Pakistan ready to get on with the rest of their England series, Woolmer is thankful that 8220;cricket will once again be back in focus,8217;8217; because 8220;what happened was certainly not good for the game.8217;8217;