KARACHI, Oct 29: Geoff Lawson believes his sacking as the Pakistan cricket coach has nothing to do with his performance but was influenced by political changes in the country and the change in the PCB set-up.

The former Australian Test pacer will return home on Friday after just over a year as coach of the national team.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) cleared his financial dues with a final payment of $80,000, which included a bonus for guiding the national team into the final of the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa last year.

Lawson had refused to leave until the authorities cleared all his payments and this was done on Monday by the board.

“My performance was not bad at all. I did my best and the players responded well despite the fact that we didn’t get to play major series in the last few months due to the security concern issues raised by some foreign teams,” he said.

“But in the little cricket we did get to play, we didn’t do that badly. I think the decision to release me as coach was the result of the changes in the board,” he added.

Lawson said whatever he had learnt during his stint with the Pakistan team would come in handy during his future assignments. “It was a great experience working with some quality players and coaching the Pakistan team was a big challenge. But it was also an enjoyable and learning experience,” he stated.

Lawson had special praise for opener Salman Butt, whom he described as a valuable asset for the team. “Salman is a great prospect for Pakistan and he must be played regularly. Similarly, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf are world class players who play influential roles when Pakistan does well,” he said. —Agencies