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Thursday, Sep 23, 2004

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The Woolmer effect

By S. Dinakar

KEEPING THEM FOCUSSED: Bob Woolmer has been instrumental in instilling discipline in the Pakistan attack. — Photo: N. Balaji

CHENNAI, SEPT. 22. At the beginning of India's epoch-making tour of Pakistan earlier this year John Wright had a question for every member of the Indian side: "Which is the best way to defeat Pakistan on its home soil?"

When his own turn to answer arrived, India's coach said: "I think we can beat them with discipline." Wright was dead right.

Pakistan was a side bristling with talent, with exciting shot-makers, and bowlers who could be fast and furious. But then, it was also a team that did not play the percentages well in stressful situations.

In other words, if the side was denied, it could be conquered. This was in evidence in the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal at the Rose Bowl, where the Pakistani batsmen were caught out on a seaming pitch, but there surely is more focus and spirit in the side these days under new coach Bob Woolmer.

All through the Pakistan tour, if India scored over Pakistan in one department it was discipline. And if there was one aspect that hurt Pakistan the most it was inconsistency, particularly in bowling.

A sizzling off-cutter from Shoaib Akhtar would be followed by a loose offering. Akhtar and Mohammed Sami regularly bowled short and wide, or drifted down the leg-side and the Indian batting — the team's stronger flank — prospered.

Miandad's mistake

A view in some influential sections in Pakistan, following the home side's defeats at India's hands in the ODI and Test series, was that Javed Miandad — a cricketing legend — was unable to get his message across to the players. Miandad played his cricket with much passion and pride, but there was a tendency in him as a coach to be swayed by the emotions of the moment, rather than manage the situation with a calm mind.

Bob Woolmer seldom gets ruffled, can communicate effectively with his players and despite opposition in some quarters to a foreigner being given the coach's job, has managed to turn things around for Pakistan. Rightly, he has stressed on consistency and discipline, with emphasis on a clear role definition, although the methods adopted can be flexible.

Pakistan has now beaten India in three successive tournaments — the Asia Cup, the Videocon tri-series and the ICC Champions Trophy — and the verdicts reflect how Woolmer has managed to lift the side's bowling, Pakistan's traditional area of strength.

The decision to hand the new ball to Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, who relies more on a time-tested off-stump line and movement than speed with subtle changes of pace thrown in, at Edgbaston was a master-stroke. And right through the fresh season, Akhtar, cleverly held back as one change by the Pakistani team management, has bowled at a lesser speed, but crucially, with greater control.

Earlier he used to thunder in, providing the batsmen with both pace and width, and did not have much cover either, with the field restrictions in place. Now he operates with more consistency and keeps the heat on the opposition. However, he went full throttle first up at the Rose Bowl against the West Indies, Pakistan's batting collapse forcing a shift in strategy.

Patch up

There was much friction and bad blood between Inzamam and Akhtar during the series against India, and Woolmer appears to have bridged the gap between the skipper and the star bowler. There are times when even established cricketers need to be told things. Pace legend Dennis Lillee, during his recent visit to the MRF Pace Foundation, said how he had advised Brett Lee to shorten his strides as he ran in, so that he could release the ball from a greater height.

In the rise of Allan Donald as an exceptional pace bowler, Woolmer's role was a significant one, and Akhtar could benefit from his wealth of knowledge. The former England cricketer has been working on the batsmen too, and Shoaib Malik, one of the success stories for Pakistan after being wisely promoted to No. 3, revealed how Woolmer had impressed upon him the need to stop shuffling and bat with a still head.

Woolmer's job has only begun though and the side has a captain who still has a tendency to allow the match to drift when on top, instead of seizing the moment. The fact that Rana Naved did not complete his quota despite being the outstanding bowler against India, was the kind of mismanagement of overs that could so easily have cost Pakistan the match.

There are still streaks of inconsistency in the Pakistan batting — the Rose Bowl capitulation being proof of this — but in the game against India at Edgbaston, Pakistan had one frontline batsman in Yousuf Youhana who stayed till the end to finish things off.

A foreign coach rarely brings regional politics with him and there are already signs that the side is blending well with Woolmer in charge. Pakistan has a wealth of all-round talent — Malik, Afridi and Abdul Razzaq — and if the mercurial Azhar Mahmood can be accommodated in the eleven, the team would sport a more versatile look.

In Birmingham, it was the Pakistani bowlers, who landed the ball in the right areas, denying scoring opportunities, building up the pressure and forcing mistakes from the Indian batsmen, who were lacking in discipline. Then the Pakistanis crumbled at the Rose Bowl. How quickly cricketing fortunes change!

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