Geoff Lawson

Geoff Lawson, an optometrist by training, suffered from tunnel vision, red mist and blind spots as much as any good fast bowler. But in the latter part of his career he showed much insight and perspective too, and so had a big impact on Australian cricket. A tall, lively-paced outswing bowler from Wagga Wagga, he came to attention in 1978-79 in the then-approved way, by hitting Geoff Boycott, and went on to take 180 Test wickets and one blow to the jaw for Australia. His career-best match figures of 11 for 134 came in Brisbane in the 1982-83 Ashes, where he was also the series' leading wicket-taker by a mile. As captain of New South Wales, he insisted on a "get on or get out" philosophy that not only won the state titles, but also strongly influenced the methods of Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh as Test captains. Known to all as "Henry" after the Australian bush poet, he was still near to the game as an analyst and spectator, and succeeded Bob Woolmer as Pakistan's coach in July 2007. Although he led Pakistan to the final of the T20 World Cup final in 2009, Lawson shared an uneasy relationship with PCB officials and the local media. His tenure ended in a summary dismissal days after the new PCB chief, Ijaz Butt, publicly announced that Lawson's contract would not be renewed.