‘Lillee was a bit of a fairy’

Grieg derides Australian cricketers’ attitude.

LONDON:

Former England captain Tony Greig risked fresh controversy by suggesting legendary Australia fast-bowler Dennis Lillee was a ‘bit of a fairy’ if he got hit himself.

Lillee, one of cricket’s greatest bowlers, was at the height of his powers during the 1970s when Greig played for England. But the all-rounder was a good enough batsman to score a Test hundred against Lillee and the fearsome Jeff Thomson in 1974.

Greig has spent the bulk of his life since retirement in Australia, where he has carved out a career as a commentator.

Many Australia fans have accused him of bias against their side and that opinion is unlikely to be softened by his statements on Lillee and Australian cricketers in general.

“If you treated the Aussies in the way they treated everyone else, they found it a little bit foreign,” said Greig.

“I think they thought they had some sort of exclusivity on it and they didn’t like it. There were people like Lillee, who was a past master at letting people have it, but he was a bit of a fairy when he got hit himself.”

However, Greig was quick to term Lillee as one of the best fast-bowlers he played against.

“Lillee was up there with the world’s two best fast-bowlers I played against and Thomson was as quick as the quickest.”

Meanwhile, Greig’s career contained plenty of controversy, including his infamous remarks before the England team took on the West Indies in the 1976 series that he wanted to make Clive Lloyd’s men “grovel”.

Later, he lost the England captaincy when it was revealed that he had helped recruit several top players to play in Australia media mogul Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2011.