Geoff Lawson urges Oz to take advantage of England `over-confidence`

Sydney: Former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson has said that England`s excessive pride and over-confidence is one of their biggest flaws, and urged the Australian team to exploit that factor during the winter Ashes series.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Lawson believes that although the current Alastair Cook-led England side is strong, it is not unbeatable by any measure. Lawson further said that another plus point for Australia is that England will feel uncomfortable on the pitches in their rival country as they would be completely different from the ones the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) ordered during the summer series in England. Lawson also said that Australia had improved in the summer series and would have had a strong chance of winning had England bowler Stuart Broad been given out in the `walking controversy` in the first Test at Trent Bridge, an incident which Lawson termed as `disgraceful`. However, Lawson warned Australia that England`s seam bowlers might benefit from the hard pitches in Australia, which may be an advantage for the tourists in the return series.