The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Woolmer's toughest assignment

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 21, 2004

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Sport - Cricket

Woolmer's toughest assignment

COLOMBO, JULY 20. The current assignment with the temperamental Pakistanis could well be Bob Woolmer's toughest in his successful career as coach. The Englishman earned celebrity status as a cerebral person during the Woolmer- Cronje partnership in the 90s, which led to South Africa's rise as a superpower in the game.

Pakistan, however, will be different and difficult due to a variety of reasons, least of which is language. There are bigger problems. Like, politics and infighting. Pakistan cricket is complex.

The former Warwickshire coach was diplomatic when asked about the internal squabbles that had surfaced recently. "I'd like to know what they are, if you could tell me," he said.

Possibly, his grounding as a schoolteacher, before turning into a professional cricketer, helped him become a good coach. "It certainly did. But you'll never be able to be a good coach without loving the game and wanting to coach," he said. "The passion is important."

After the stint with South Africa, Woolmer was associated with ICC's programmes for four years before taking up the latest assignment.

He said the offer from the Pakistan Cricket Board was unexpected. "I was discussing ways of improving Pakistan cricket with Shahryar Khan. And one day I get an e-mail enquiring if I'd be interested. It's too early for me to talk about my plans. In fact, I don't know the full names of all the boys. All that I can say for now is that it's a challenge that I'll enjoy."

Woolmer described coaching at the international level as more about technique and tactics. "It's about fine-tuning, really, like an international golfer or tennis player. You check their basics, then allow their natural flair to take over."

The former England batsman is a strong believer that form is temporary and class is permanent. "Absolutely," he said.

Woolmer's biggest strength as coach is that he is wonderful at assessing and understanding the needs of a player. "Coaching at this level is about working closely with the players. Suppose one of them has lost confidence, it's important to work with him till he regains it.

"There might be another who is dogged by fear of failure. You'll have to teach him to love the game and not to worry about performance and results when he goes out to play. Fear of failure is caused by external influences normally, worrying about what other people think. A cricketer has to love the game first."

Even fine players are unable to spot an error that has crept in. So how does he help them? "Spotting an error is the easy part, getting it right is the difficult part (smiles). That's why I say a coach has to work closely with players."

Woolmer is concerned that the game is lately seeing very few all-rounders. "To develop them one will have to produce three-dimensional cricketers when they are young. You shouldn't try to over specialise. But then, specialists are necessary. And that's the problem. When I see them, I help them."

He feels that batsmen at No. 5 and 6 should be good new ball players in Test cricket. "But the demands on No. 5 and No. 6 batters vary in both formats. In the longer version they could be facing the second new ball and in one-dayers they'll be finishing the innings. It's not easy to answer that question simply."

Woolmer is of the opinion that changes in position, like opening to first change in bowling, and in the batting order, helps a bowler or a batsman. "Multi-people batting order can help, but you don't want to do that. Being able to adapt to any position is good, but then some are suited to particular positions. It's a matter of finding out what's best for them."— Sanjay Rajan

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