The man whose name is adorned on Wagga cricket’s biggest prize has backed Jon Nicoll.
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Brian Lawrence weighed into the Mankad issue, fully supporting the Wagga City star.
“He’s quite within his rights to do what he has done and I have done it myself,” Lawrence said.
“To say it is not in the spirit of the game is absolutely bloody ridiculous.
“Cheating isn’t in the spirit of the game and that is what the batsman was doing – he was cheating.
“When a bowler bowls a no-ball he is not warned before they no ball him, some umpires might say you are getting a bit close to the line there but most of them don’t.
“You step over the line and bang it’s a no ball, your team is penalised and you might happen to get a wicket with that ball and then the team is really penalised.”
Nicoll has won a record four Brian Lawrence Medals and is looking for a fifth straight this season.
Lawrence is adamant he should and will be remembered for that when he steps away from the game.
“Saying he will be remembered for this and not for his ability as a player and the medals he won is distracting from his ability and his standing,” he said.
“Daylight runs second to him in Wagga in my opinion.
“Even though we have a few good players, but he’s a real standout.”
Lawrence admitted when he decided the run the non-striker out before he bowled it caused plenty of arguments between those on the field in the 1970s, but no where near the extent of the debate as Saturday’s incident.