Australia’s Test opener Chris Rogers has conceded that he felt “elated” when he heard Saeed Ajmal had been banned from bowling last month and has welcomed the ICC’s crackdown on illegal actions. Rogers, who flew out on Saturday to join the rest of the Australia squad in the UAE, will open with David Warner for the two Tests in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and they will be his first Tests in Asia.
He struggled against the regulation offspin of Graeme Swann in England last year and said he did not know how he would have handled Ajmal during the upcoming Test series. He said that having spoken to his Middlesex team-mate Eoin Morgan about how difficult it was to face Ajmal, he knew how easy it could be for a batsman’s career to be affected by such a bowler.
“You can’t have a guy who is exceeding the rules, or not playing to the rules, who’s affecting other people’s careers. And that’s what it comes down to,” Rogers told the Age. “I played with Eoin Morgan, and he’s a tremendous player of spin, but he still says Ajmal ruined his Test career.
“So maybe if that hadn’t happened and Eoin had got a couple of scores there, you never know, he might still be playing Test cricket. A lot of ifs and buts in that, but the rules are there and are meant to be followed and if he was that far outside of it, then this should have happened a long time ago, I think.
“When I heard that news [of Ajmal’s suspension], I was pretty elated for about 48 hours. I had my own troubles with Graeme Swann, so I didn’t know how I was going to go against Ajmal. That might prolong my Test career a little bit longer.”
Rogers, 37, is hoping to continue his second coming as a Test cricketer in the UAE after making himself an important member of the side during the 10 Ashes Tests in England and Australia. He added a fourth Test century in South Africa earlier this year and could well be part of Australia’s Ashes defence in 2015 if he enjoys a strong UAE tour and home summer.
“It’s going to be a fantastic tour,” Rogers said. “I’ve spoken to the England guys about the UAE and they love it. It’s going to be hard work with the heat obviously, and my white skin. But I’ll get through, and a couple of big scores on some flat tracks would be nice.”
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