Atherton was ready to go to court
13 April 2012
Michael Atherton has said he would have gone to court to clear his name if the 'dirt-in-the-pocket' incident had led to his sacking as England captain.
Atherton, who now works in the media, was fined £1,000 after television pictures appeared to show him applying dirt to the ball during a Test match against South Africa at Lord's in July 1994.
He says in a new book: "While the loss of the captaincy would have been painful, to have been labelled a cheat permanently would have been more damaging. I'd have had no option but to go to court."
