Cricinfo - Blogs - Pak Spin - Road to Jamaica 4: Q&A with Bob Woolmer

Bob Woolmer did a commendable job attempting to answer these questions as diplomatically as possible. Woolmer is limited in his command over Pakistani cricket, a system where bias, favouritism and personal predilections prevail as opposed to merit, common sense and selflessness. Pakistan does not possess enough match winning bowlers LOOKING AT THEIR CURRENT FORM and not innate talent. That is why I opined the inclusion of 4 specialist fast bowlers in every match in the earlier post. Everyone with the ability to reason and general awareness about cricket knows that Inzi is captain by convenience, not captain by merit. I do not perceive Younis as an effective captaining option either. Younis is all words and no deeds. Whenever he is interviewed before tournaments he always makes overly optimistic remarks about winning. I have noticed that whenever Younis says something grand before the commencement of any tournament/series, like he said SA is likely to be surprised owing to the “dashing” approach Pakistan will adopt, (in the recent series) Pakistan lose badly. Younis is also too laid back. He has this philosophy of “Koi baat nahi kuch nahi hota hai, it’s a team game…….” He can motivate players with his big mouth but I don’t foresee him having the attacking mentality Imran Khan had. Pakistani players and fans need to realise that you have give your 100% in every match and you have to adopt the strategy of winning every match. That is how you maximise your chances of success. That is exactly how Australia play- every match has to be won; they have to be utterly and completely dominant over the opposition.
Woolmer’s attitude towards openers is regrettable, stating that all teams come under pressure. Perhaps a more apt question should be “What are the chances our openers will not suck in this tournament as well?” Why we have not had good openers since Saeed Anwar is due to reasons I have already stated many times on this blog and will not state them again, for fear of being banned/excluded by Mr Abbasi!
Finally, all teams HAVE TO BE respected because Pakistan will face stiff competition. Pakistan can lose easily if they take teams like Bangladesh and England lightly considering the pathetic state the team is in. Minnows always surprise in big tournaments anyway!

I feel they are the most diplomatic answers a coach can give knowing his strengths and weaknesses. I hope that the team his the fire in their belly(ies) to give good performance... Good Luck! Pakistan.. Make us Proud!!!!!!!

Wow, this is like two Philosophers trying to dodge each others questions and answers. And either may not make any sense...haha

I have not learnt anything new from this interview. Woolmer has quite intelligently dodged every question that was thrown at him. Who is opening the innings is it Hafeez and Nazir, Nazir and Younis or some other brilliant innovation? Who will have the new ball in thier hands, is it Sami and Gul, Gul and Rana or Sami and Rao? Have we learnt anything form our mistakes in the past? Have we realized that our best players need to come out and face the new ball? Open your eyes, look around you, your best batsmen need to bat at three( we all know who that is at the moment) Inzi must come in at number 4. Have we realized that the game is changing infront of our very eyes? 350 runs might just not be enough anymore. Have we worked on our fielding? Our we aware of the fact that the best teams in the world save at least 30 to 40 runs in the field? What is our strategy? Are our bolwers going for minimizing runs or attacking the batsmen? Is Kaneria playing in the eleven? Have we realized that defensive captaincy eventualy leads to a countries downfall? Have Rana and Sami been informed that if you spray the ball all over the place you will go for ten an over. Did we learn anything from SA and the previous tours that our best players must lead from the front. Both Woolmer and Inzimam have yet to answer these questions from the Pakistani people. It is essential for Younis to open the innings, it is essential for Kaneria to play as he is a wicket taker and the WI wickets will indeed help his cause. Rao must play as he is quick and more importantly has shown control in the recent past. Our best fielders must be fielding in crucial positions. Wrong bowling changes at crucial times must be avoided as we saw in SA. Inzimam must believe he can take this world cup.

I fully agree with Bob, it is a team game all eleven players has to give their 110% if they really want reach semifinals. Of course Inzi has to lead from front at the same time he should be the finisher too. Inzi has to stay through out the innings.

The question you have asked our of course correct. The only problem is that as you would expect is bob woolmer is keeping things close to his chest. I do not blame him for this, I still do ot think we have the players to win the world cup and I also see Woolmer leaving pakistan to go some where else after the world cup. I personally think he is a great coach and had it not been for the usual politics in pakistani cricket his results would have been much better. A coach should be left to coach and choose the players he thinks are right. So that when it goes wrong you know it was the coach along with the captain who should take the blame. I think a lot ofthings will come to the surface once bob woolmer has left pakistan and can tell his side of the story. I see in the pakistani press have been giving him a hard time, I believe that not matter what the problems with bob they should be left until after the world cup. He should be left alone and supported along with the team. We should be positive towards all of the people going to the world cup and in courage them to do well. my views are that we need luck and hope that the bowling gets better. I remember once watching mohammed sami in tandem with shoaib bowl over 90 mph at lord's what a sight. I just hope they now let sami bowl as fast as he can without holding him back and hope the pitches turn. If this happens maybe just maybe we get good results. I hope inzi's relax a little more and enjoys his last world cup with out think all the pressure is on him. Lets support the team look at others india coach not been great but the board have supported him. Lets support Bob and the guys and wish them the best

Bob Woolmer has avoided direct answer to these questions, people may think that he does not want to leak his strategies, actually he has no clue.
A balanced cricket team compromises of 2 openers, 3 middle order batsmen, one all rounder, one wicket-keeper, 4 bowlers, pace and spin. 3+1 or 2+2.

For England in the 50's It used to be Trueman and Statham, Lock and laker, Godfery Evans the wicket-keeper, Trever Bailey the all-rounder, then Peter May, Graveney, Cowdrey, in the middle, Hutton and Hobbs or Sutcliff the opener. Players like Barrington and Dexter were knocking on the door.
West indies had Greenidge, Haynes, Rohan Kanahi, Buthcher, Warrell, Sobers, Solomon, John Alexander( W.K.) followed by Hall, Gilchrist and Gibbs.

Australia, after the Bradman era had players like Colin Mcdonald, Neil Harvey, Norman O,Neill, Burke, Burge, Lindwall, Miller and Richie Benauld. After that came McKenzie. Bobby Simpson re-built this team after the Kerry Packer era.

Imran left in 1992 followed by Miandad, Salim Malik and Rameez after 1996. After 2003 we lost Wasim Akram, Waqar, Saeed Anwar, Saqlain, Mushtaq. Moin Khan, Rashd latif.
Pakistan hired the services of Bob Woolmer, in 2004, to coach the team after the 2003 disaster, to built a team for the 2007 World Cup. He could not find a couple of openers, a wicker-keeper with no back ups for spinners, fast bowler and even the middle order. Probably the fault of the selectors, but then we should realize that the chief selector is very busy being employed by PIA which is being banned by European union. He did not have time to go to the ground to watch players practice or play.

They are coming with statistics of the last hundreds of ODI played in WI, that the team batting 2nd will win, because of the swing in the morning and the smaller ground. WI and Pakistan are the two teams that cannot chase runs to win, they have a dismal record.
A cricket captain plays a keyrole. It was Richie Benauld who declared his innings behind Australia in the first innings of a test, because the wicket was turning and went onto win the test on Monday after the Sunday rest days when the wicket dried. It was Jawaid Miandad who introduced the use of spin in the slog overs by saving Abdul Qadir one over and gave him to bowl the 49th over when WI needed 8 runs with 4 wickets in hand, it was the 1987 World Cup match when Jawaid was captaining in absence of Injured Imran khan. Abdul Qadir bowled a maiden over taking two wickets. Cricket is not so simple that you can plan it on your computer. You need an intelligent captain, coach and manager who can react according to the situation. What we got is a dull computer analyst, a dumb captain and a puppy manager who is always seen taking instructions over the phone.

But I have not lost hope as the wickets will suit Pakistan batting.

It looks to me that BOB was being very discreet in this interview. His answers were unconvincing to a ceratin extent. It doesn't really give the fans much expectation for this world cup.

However that isn;t neccessarily a bad thing. To be fair to Bob he is being rather pragmatic in his approach. I think he and I both believe that the toss may be very important in the matches. He has emphasized that batting will be key and if that is the case I think most teams will want to bat second in the windies to get the best use of the conditions.

To my recollection Shoaib MALIK hasn't really finished many games off for Pakistan. I hope for PAKISTAN SAKE HIS TIME IS NOW!!!!!!!!

But i think as Pakistani fans we should not be too optimistic. HOW EVER AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE PROVE ME WRONG PAKISTAN!!!!!

Excellent answers from Bobby... He is very level headed which is great.

I like his comment about TEAM GAME.. thats one thing we fans forget.. we like heros but one should work hard to be a hero, not just ACT like one.

Kamran- keep it real homi ;-)

Bob has become a pakistani diplomat. what a casual , non serious and a bit non sense style of answering very simple questions. Beleive me he himslef is fully consfused and rather unconcerned. without any plans. which kind of Guys we have in our camp .............!!!!

Intelligent and well balanced answers Bob.

Is Bob running for Pakistan Premiership?

His style of handling questions would make many a politician envious.

Good luck Bob & Crew! Boy your gonna need it!

OK. He didn't say much did he? But I wanted to know more about the bowling attack. Lately Inzamam has been at six in ODIs and 7 in Tests.

Q(4) Are you to blame for all the chaos in Pakistani cricket?

Bob: Your damn right I am. The enemy within

Question to Kamran Abbasi:
I apologise that couldn't find any other method to contact you.
We all know that Imran Khan had a shoulder injury during 1992 world cup and had to play using cortisone injections. Would that be considered as a doping offence today??

Dr Abbassi, I am surprised that you even posted this. There is nothing I learnt from this Q&A other than "practise pitches turned appreciably". No strategy, no insight. It would be nice to see some passion from the coach.

Pakistan should loose the first match against WI. History tells us whenever Pak had lost the first match of a tournement they've come back very strong and on many occasions hav gone on to win the tournement. When they have a very good side (on paper) and are very well placed they tend to take things easy. So I hope and pray they loose the first match

If we play more united, the way we played against south africa in 2nd odi, we are unbeatable. we are not going down without a fight and imran nazir will prove too hot to handle against any team as an opener, i have a good feeling this world cup might turn out to be ours. India and others are so balanced side that they will be overconfident, but they will fail just like how we failed when we had a very balanced side in 2003 world cup. we will definitly be the UNDERDOGS since we are known as UNPREDICTABLE. we will win this world cup inshallah and PAKISTAN ZINDABAD.....

Bob is by far the best coach that the Pakistan team has had. Before the tour to England all must remember that Pakistan was considered to be a world beater. Never in the recent past (after Imran's departure) has the Pakistani team enjoyed success at such a consistent rate (what was it - undefeated in five test series' on the trot). All the so called well wishers of Pakistan cricket should just stop appearing on tv channels and talking absolute non-sense in order to settle personal scores and issues. All these pundits should put personal diferences aside and try and figure out the true qualities of journalism (not that most of them have a clue). All these pundits are just waiting for the team to fail so that the flame throwing war can finally begin or shall I say beging with an even more ferocious and ludicrous slant. As much as I respect Javed Miandad as a player - one point has to be drilled home, he was not the saviour when it comes to coaching. If people cannot begin to identify the good that Bob has done for the team and if they cannot start supporting the team and providing constructive criticism then they should just be ignored.
Pakistan still has a chance in this world cup and one has to maintain his faith in Inzi and Bob. If being a Pakistan fan has taught me anything is that impossible is nothing - just remember the tour to India in the beginning of 2005 (what hope did the side have when it was slated by all former greats and ridiculed as being ho hopers - subsequently it was the same people that appeared on tv shows and maintained that they knew that the Pakistan team could cause an upset). I know that it will not happen but there should be a way to ensure that Bob stays on as our coach.

Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer!. At this stage, who would expect Bob Woolmer, any coach for that matter, to give any response other than the "correct" response? I think Bob has done well to give responses that are from neutral to positive. Any negative responses would have been unbecoming of any coach at this pre-Cup stage. If I were you, Kamran, I would, at this stage, ask only those questions whose answers brought out positives. The team is battered; it can use some positive comments in the media. I would ask you and your blog followers to refrain from further demoralizing an already demoralized team. Reserve your criticism until after the game is over!

i think that its better that no one is expecting a lot from the team so they are not under pressure to perform. But i think that lot of the pundits and people are just underestamating the pakistan team. Yes with Asif, Shoaib and Razzak in the team pakistan were the top 3 favouties for the WC. But lets see that the players who have come in can do the job or not. Azhar is a batter baller then razzak, yes his batting is not as explosive as razzak's but he is aggressive and has a better technique. Shoaib is replaced by Sami. Sami has always ball well in the one dayers it's his performance in test matches that has let him down. He is the most effective bowler along with naveed in the depth overs. Yasir Arfat is no M Asif but bowls at a very good pace and will provide back up to the rest.
So for me this bowling line up will not be the best in the tournament but it has more variety and quality then many teams that some are recomending as the 4 semifinalists.
Umer Gul
Mohammad Sami
Rana Naveed/Rao Iftikhar
Danish Kaneria/Azhar Mahmood/Yasir Arfat
Malik/Kaneria
This will be effective and the seires that we won in India and Westindies and the VB series final where they give tough time to australians without Gul and Kaneria is a prove to it.

Typical Bob BS, "I expect ALL players to lead by example." Come on that is just retarted. Obviously you have your leaders and your feeders. See our captain isn't a leader. He's a feeder. We gotta give him 10 plates of nihari before he moves. Then when he gets on the feild he won't even make the dive. Just fall on his kness and be glad that he "tried."

Hi Kamran, i am not so much impress with questions and answers. Because, most of the questions are what belongs to the team, i mean if you expose all the information/stratgies and weaknesses to the world..........then what can we expect. Secondly, i like the answers from Bob keeping things the way it should be. As i mentioned earlier, that apart from a lot of things, cricket is also about surprises.....if you display everything, then what do u expect from the opposition.

Good answers Bob. Keep all the cards to yourself, but in the end the whole of Pakistan nation will be hoping that you and our cricket team is not bluffing!

Question 1: Do you possess enough match-winning bowlers?

DN: No, we do not have match winning bowlers for the WC.

Q2: The view from the boundary, and the living room, is that Inzy's captaincy style is too laid back. Is that true? Is he capable of great leadership?

DN: Inzi is thw worst captain Pakistan scared.

Q3: Where will he bat?

DN: Depends on team. Against Ireland, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland he is ready to play at #4. But against the good bowling attack of such as SA, Austrlia, New Zeland he will not promote himself. Yes after 40 overs or if the spinners are bowling Inzi could promote himself but recently his records are good only on lower #. (Some tine)

Q4: The opening batsmen remain under pressure. Will you be trying any new strategies?

DN: We alreday mess up a lot and we will continue to mess up and will blame openers after losing good place in the world cup. So no one talk about Inzi Captain ship and his batting average.

Q5: Who is your finisher?

DN: It is not our hand. ALLAK knows it.

Q6: Can your legspinners win you the World Cup?

DN: Yes, probably we will try Mushi. Inzi likes him a lot.

Q7: How do you expect the pitches to play? Will they suit Pakistan?

DN: good question, we alreday start blaming pitches for our defeats, please ask about it more.
Pitches are not good for our batsman. Bowl will not come on thier bad. Pitches are very un even and it is difficult for great Kamran Akmal to catch properly, he will drop only one catch per match. Pitsches are very flat our fast bowlers can not bowl fast. Fields are slow it will create problem for our fast bowlers to take proper run up. No turn in a wicket so Danish can not turn the bowl. etc etc etc (Looks like every thing prepare against Inzi & Bob, must be Aamir sohail & Sarfraz Ahmad are working for ICC).

Q8: Who do you see as Pakistan's main threats?

DN: Comments from Imran Khna, Aamir sohail, Sarfraz Ahmad during the WC and our nations threat after the world cup.
Specially on our arrival. We requested to Pakistan home land scurity to provide us departure visa on arrival.

Q9: Which players will you be asking to stand up and lead by example?

DN: He is not with the team.

Dawar,
LA, USA

Interview with Bob as good as a "no comment"
Yasser Arafat and Kaneria would be in my eleven against W.Indies.
Are the 2 pre tournament games official? If so then Afridi can serve his suspensions prior to w.c
Pakistan are now not expected to do anything in this w.c therefore suspect they will do very well!
they always do well as the underdog.

Terrible questions. Smart answers.

I think Pakistan can still do better ... we just need to have hope and faith in our team. Just pray for our international loosers

What does Bob Woolmer mean by saying,"If they bowl
as a unit we will be competitive".Does he mean that if all the bowlers bowl well they would be
competitive.I have heard about batsmen not playing
as a unit.That is they play for themselves.But bowlers?Puzzling.

mmmmmm Nothing new mate ! all the same generic details by our respective Coach. It would have nice if he would have been more specific in his answers. Any way one thing I agree Pakistan has to bat really really well as this world cup will be decided on batting and run making capabilities of the teams. And Inzi has to prove him self and go with a bang in his last world cup simple if he performs our teams performs that’s the bottom line. Inzi has to lead from the front and i am sure he will InshAllah.

Well very careful words used by the coach. Bob Woolmer did not try to give away any tips about the strategies but thats the way he and Inzamam operate. I think he did drop a hint though that the spinners are finding atleast practice pitches to their liking. Also the Bermudan spinners have had a marry day against England, so that can help. Personnaly, Afridi to me will be a big big key in the Super 8's and beyond with the spin. Resources are not abundant in bowling and therefore have to be used adequatly. Lets hope Pakistan can pull their act together for the next 2 months.

Mr. Woolmer is on defensive mode. That is what reflecting from his words, showed lack of confidence in Pakistan Side, and even in the captancy of Inzaman. If this is the situation of the coach, no one can expect anything good from the Pakistan Side. Lack of motivation, team spirit, and confidence, I am afraid of any other chaos in Pakistani side.

All is bad but can go worst, best of luck Pakistan.

Bob is feeling sorry for Pak team. Even he dont know who can be Pakistan's main threat. Salman butt, Yasir hameed, Imran farhat were all good, but Bob destroy them one by one with his bad coaching. Only the big players like Inzi, yousuf, younis, shoaib akhter survived from bob's bad coaching. Otherwise Bob want to watch Shoaib akhter bowl with his 10 meter run up. Woolmer earn a lot of publicity during his coaching for Pakistan. that was his target and he achieved it. Now its too late to change the coach.

The answers of Woolmer hint that he is unsure of the team combination himself. He doesnt really know who to expect perfomances from!!!

I guess he is taking the 5th on almost 99% of the questions you have posed.
Quite the tight lip I guess some questions I agree he should not have answered but for crying out loud he should alteast provide a bit more insight isn't that why we have a foreigner coach to be able to atleast respond to media.

Mr. Woolmer has responded very diplomatically. I agree with him that the team has to play very responsibly with great respect to their opponent. I believe they got very competitive bowling attack. Inzy has to use them intelligently and aggressively. The batting is also great but very inconsistent. Each and every batsman has to play with great concentration and focus to achieve the target. Do not "throw away the wicket" at any circumstances.

The fielding is the most important factor, in fact it is "Match Winning" if every fielder performs with smart thinking and quick reflexes.

Good Luck

Niaz from Livonia, USA

I am amazed how easily Bob was able to dodge the specific answers to your questions. I have read the interview again and again and, personally, can't find a single answer that is directly answering the question except for naming Shoaib Malik as a Finisher.

I think Pakistan will surprise few teams and few of the pundits as I believe they have a very good batting line up and the bowling attack has enough fire power to go through teams batting line ups. Two factors that are very important, is for our openers to have at the least have a average start in majority of the games, and for our bowlers to have control over extras. Thanks.

Agree, plz BOb play specialists. Inzi needs to be more PROACTIVE rather than reactive... I know you cant brain wash a 37 yr old man, but perhaps videos of Imran Khan, Rickey Ponting....

Kick out the bob, show him door before the world cup he is making fool to all pakistani and cricket world, and sopiling the world class cricker like Afridi and Akhter what has happened to PCB,almost all the player do not understand his laguage,he is unworthy, he has spoiled the team, and player,I fail to understand what he has given to team in his time , almost 4 year has been passed ,He and inzmam could not find the difference between club cricker(Farhat,Butt,) and world class(Nazir), Have you got any result???? He is not worth of Rs. 1, If you want to win world cup
1.Show the door to Bob Woolmer
2.Open with Afridi & Nazir,
3.Play Attacking cricket(Obivious if Nazir& Afridi Open)
3.Do not play Kaneria(He is very bad filder)
4.Either do not include Yunis Khan or say him to speed up is run making.
5.Do not drop catch
6.Beleive in Allah and himself
.............
............

Well Kamran you missed couple of important questions?
1- In his opinion what difference he has made In Pakistan cricket?
2- Is He still passionate and interested about the job keeping in view the criticism and the continous soap opera.
3- In his opinion can any body coach a Pakistani side.

Since coaching is done behind the scenes so no body can judge a coaches true contribution specially when somebody is coahing a team like Pakistan, Its a thank less job, an emotional nation always ready to chew up your ass for anything,Greedy ex players who would keep on criticizing the team and coach, just bcz they want to get a position with the team management and financial benefits which come with the job.
And a weak and non professional board who cannot withstand any pressure whether it is from players
Ex-players, Media or the People.
As a result we see a game of musical chair in terms of selection,The coaches dont get enough time to coach the players properly and the player
does not get enough time to get groomed.

The success in one day game depends on how effectively each player plays his Role this role can vary from game to game but with players changing places quite so often its virtually impossible for the new players to fully understand what their role is and what the team wants from them, these things take time.
So much have been said about consistency and coaching, consistency can only occur if you consistently coach and play the same group of people.
Personally I think BoB woolmer has done a pretty
good JoB so far, we all forget one thing our team
has been constantly plagued with injuries and has been missing key players in every series,and on top of that the various shoaib incidents, the oval
Drama keeping in view all these adverse factors we still have a winnig record and better than most of the teams For those who have any doubt they can compare the records of Inzi as a captain with previous captains.Also compare Pak record with other asian temas.You will be surprised.

Having said that still there has been mistakes made,Things could have been better, a little bit of discipline could have helped us a lot,but we are talking about Pakistan cricket,Where Discipline,selflessness and integrity are completely non existant.
Any body who can change that will be my HERO.

Show the door to Bob,Make Afridi Captain who can set the example by bowling,Fielding,batting,Aggression,and by Nature of playing attacking criket,pakistan can win only by attacking criket,Open with Afridi and Nazir,and Bob is making fool to all Pakistan and cricketing world, kick him and drop inzi as captain........

Asslam o Alikum,
My Wishes are with my Team, Green Shirts everyone like them. in the absence of Shoaib,asif and Razzaq Hope Still alive.Bcoz Cricket is bychance if we avail all chance in fielding i hope we can play final. our man powe is batting now. if our batsman paly with responsibilities than something will be different which all peopls are saying about green shirts at Last again gooood luck Inzi Bahi. ALLAH HAFIZ

I'd like to see Kaneria and Arafat to play all 3 matches, so they can set themselves in by the time Super 8 begins.

Heloo Sir,
I my opinion Bob's says right that no team is favourit as u know Autralia lose last 5 ondays and today southafrica man battig clasps at 90/8. hpe for pakistan still alive. i wish we win again our team is in trouble same as in 1992, anyway no critcism at team from me only good wished for Team and Bob too. good luck inzi.

Maybe, after the World Cup Bob should pursue politics. While he has responded in some way to your questions, his answers provide no information.

A sugession For PCB if anybody is listening.
The future pension plan for Explayers and future
benfit games should be tied up with discipline
all the Ex players who give controversial statements about the team, coaches and selectors
should not be able to recieve any monetary benefit
from PCB and they should be barred from holding from any coaching or administrative position.
Also instead of paying the pension according to the number of games played it should be changed with the contribution towards coaching in domestic cricket. Ex-players who devote their time to run academies and coach in domestic cricket should get more share.

Woolmer again!! When will he answer a question straight?? or infact answer one atall? Good questions though Kamran

I agree with Bob that as long as the team play as a unit, they have a good chance and as soon as they don't they won't have any chance no matter who the bowlers are.

Q1: Thats a diplomatic way of saying that we miss the final punch in bowling.
Q2: Bob thinks Inzi aint a good test captain. And when he is saying that he has expectations, he means to say Inzi's performance is under scrutiny.
Q3:Since he has given straight forward answers to others, except for this one, it might mean that he wont be played in the usual position, number 1,2,3 i guess?
Q4: But now he defends his openers, so i think inzi will play at 3.
Q5: Malik is at 6, i presume Pakistan wont be playing 5 more batsmen, so an allrounder like Shahid Afridi is planned to open when he comes, maybe?
Q6: Danish not our trump card.
Q7: More strokes to b seen. Lets hope for fewer bad shots.
Q8: Might be a fair comment or it might be that Pakistan is down in confidence.
Q9: nice comment, lets hope they play well as a team.

I think the approach of Woolmer in answering the questions were right. Strategically, he gave nothing awya. but each of his answer suggested that Pakistan chances are only there if they perform as a team, and thats what they are going to do.

Summary of Bob's Q&A:
"I have no control of the strategy or this team...please quit asking me questions so I can stop tap dancing"...see ya bob.. Thank you for everything you did for Pakistan Cricket, I just wished you had an alpha male nature and attitude that this team lacks and need in a coach.

There you go, Bob said it all without saying anything, smart bloke.

All his replies are so diplomatic that I think he is running for an office this year :-)

I love you Bob.

Bob's reply to Q2 perhaps to me is possibly the most candidly restrained opinion of Inzi's ability ever voiced.

Well done Bob. In my opinion once you've packed your bags after the WorldCup and have collected your paycheck+bonus from PCB; you really ought to venture into politics and run as my local Labour MP. I shall gladly vote for you. Bon Chance

Bob didnt answered is Question Properly.

From your interview with Mr. Woolmer i derive that he doesnt sound very confident. I have run out of all the ideas for Pakistan and you know what is left behind, is the prayers. Prayers have worked previously for Pakistan and i hope that they do this time. Maybe its the time that all the prayers that this team has offered so far, bring some fruit for them in West Indies.
but Kami i am really surprised that why Shabbir Ahmad has not been taken to the west Indies.

Thanks
Shahid.

I agree with Bob in that it is a team play and whole team must contribute to best of its capabilities. They should play their game sensibly and with courage!

The game against WI is our semi-final. We win that, semis, if we lose, it will be tough to progress.

I cannot see why we should lose against WI. We have played them without Asif and Akhter and beaten them in WI and in Pak.

Amongst other potential last eights, I think we should fancy our chances against England, New Zealand and either one of India or Sri Lanka and we are through to the semis.

Its not that doom or gloom as people are making it out to be. Pakistan never has and never will be favorites for anything so lets just enjoy the performance and hope for some positive results. We have 87 (one of the favorites) and 92 (not so favoured) as examples and we all know what happened back then.

Enough of analysis now, its time to let the games begin, can't wait now.

hahaha
bob is like i "suppose",i "expect", "anything can happen" ,,, luks like hes under the effect of the unpredictable pakistani side ;) bob has no definite plan,, even if he haz one he cant convey it to the camp... i wonder how a team whose half of the players dont understand english at all can be coached by a person who does not know the language of the players :|.. im stumpeD!

btw,, dun forget pakistan for the world cup. The only thing consistent with them is inconsistency. If the good inconsistency part time starts at the right time,,mark my words, they'll be unstoppable

players to watch out: 2 Ys, Afridi, Gul, Naved
rememba this post ;)

very diplomatic , and sounds like the inzi-bob are there for one last outing ..

Wah ji wah....Bobby typically giving vague answers!!![:P]

I am very disappointed by the quality of questions posed by Mr.Abbassi to Bob Woolmer.
As far as the world cup is concerned I think Pakistan has as good a chance as anybody else.If they bat first and put up huge totals that they are capable of doing,their not" so world class bowling" can put the opposition under considerable pressure.Go Pakistan.

Bob Woolmer was elusive to say the least - because he had very few options to offer. Pakistan is pershaps the worst off amongst the top eight test playing nations with the goings on of the recent past. With some questionable team selections for this World Cup ( Rana Naveed, Hafeez and Sami ), Pakistan is NOT expected to do well. It will be up to each individual to do their utmost best to even stay with the other teams and then the unexpected CAN happen. I would open with Imran Nazir and Afridi in order to dent the opposition from the start. The wickets should be like the ones in the sub-continent and therefore should not pose too many problems. If the openers can survive the first ten to twelve overs with controlled aggression - Pakistan could then have a platform for a big score. Depending on the size of the ground, Kaneria could be a useful option as a bowler. Pakistan has to bowl to a PLAN which is to their field setting and not deviate ( Rana Naveed and Md. Sami notwithstanding ). The captain Inzi will have to stay one step ahead of the opposition (unlikely) if the team is to do well. In short, everthing has to click and if not - then a quick trip back home and a good spring cleaning of the team in preparation for the World Cup four years from now. Best Wishes Pakistan.

Furhad Yaqubian
Toronto,Canada

This interview sounds like that from a confused kid of 2nd grade who has forgotten all the answers and is now just murmuring.
Bob said: "This world cup may well revolve around the batting performances", who do we have as batsmen ??? Yousuf apart, I really don't see much depth. Younis Khan on his day would be outstanding, Inzi has not had a good day for I dont know how long, Shoaib Malik is down at 6 as a "finisher" in Bob's batting line up. Besides them, its hard to qualify anyone else in the squad as a "batsman", they all are dashers who come good one day and are pathetic the other day. And where is the cover if one of these guys get injured during the tournament. To put things in perspective, we will play a maximum of 3 bowlers in any match and one bowling all-rounder in every game, yet we have Sami, Gul, Rao, Rana, Kaneria, Azhar Mahmood & Yasir Arafat (7 in all) for the 4 spots. I just wish they had squeezed a spot for Yasir Hameed for simple reasons that he is far more consistent than others, is flexible enough to be moved around and possesses better technique and temperament than others (usually gets to 40s & 50s when he gets a start, compared to others who throw it away in 20s). I know its too late, and I am not sure what the rules are for replacing players who get injured during the tournament, but he should be the one who takes the flight to carribean if another player goes down, no matter who it is.

Its all well and good saying that all pakistan bowlers are capable of winning the world cup and its all about disciple but at the end of the day asif is one of the most disciplined bowlers in the world, and similarly akhtar is just as disciplined at being undisciplined and i just cant see pakistan being able to get large scores relying on 3 or 4 batsmen and 2 or 3 bowlers for 2 months

Shoaib and asif are not injured they are just covering up for their druggy problems

without reading between the lines, Bob didn't say anything useful here. Reading between lines: he is very unsure about the team - pakistani team will be being pakistani team - unpredictable and moody - he is right in saying, it's for us to know and others to find out. Good luck.

Good Job Kamran Sb,
Atleast someone is asking them questions. Realistically, Pkaistan with its army of sub standard allrounders doesn't have any chance. Bob should be held accountable for this strategy. Pakistan is the only team which has only 4 specialist batsmen in the entire squad.Rest are bowlers and bits and pieces players.

Its funny that on one hand Bob is saying that one day games are won by batsmen and on the other hand doesn't have batsmen in the squad.

Kamran Sahib, C’mon, that line and set of questions were lame and quite docile. This is the time to grill the guy and solicit some solid feedback about what he has done in preparing the team up to now and with the WC being the climax of his stint with Pakistan (possibly).

His answers were so canned that you had to check the expiration date. The guy seems to be frustrated, non-committal and under appreciated (self pity anybody). Poor me what can I do alone!

Sadly though the whole interview did not reveal much of anything; you could have asked Khansahab, to play the coach and you may have gotten the same or slightly better results. The one diamond in the rough was his answer to Inzi’s captaincy style. This is the first time he has come straight out and made some sort of definitive judgment on Inzi’s captaincy style. This to me sounds like there are changes in the offing. And Machiavelli’s side kick is getting ready to adapt and appease. Remember we jest cause we care! AMF!

You forgot to ask the most following important question

knowing how important Asif was to our WC chances; why the **** did Inzi made bowl all those overs in SA. Unless you already knew he was never going to pass the dope test and therfore you milked evry last drop from him?

For Ali Majid.

I totally agree with your comments.You look
the only sensible person in this blog.

Bob has been a terrific coach for Pakistan in last 3 years.All of emotionall and restless people who forget past very easily should look at Pakistan's records in last 34 years before criticizing Bob.Our record in past few yeras have been better that thatt of in the days of Wasim and Waqar

PCB and inzi are puppets in the hands of woolmer.
to pick a azher mehmood in front of yasir afrfat is bigest joke of pakistan's history. azher's is just picked because of friendship with inzi and some email sent to woolmer by azher in which azher said i can still play good cricket.
if u see his bowling speed its almost equal to quick spinners and i can bet on it he can't hit a one six in super 8. Kamran abasi just note my words if azher will do anything in this worldcup i will leave watching cricket forever. he can make just few singles or edges to the thirdman.

u can guess the pcb's stupidities from here even yasir arfat can't play warmup games, coz pcb said they didn't get his reports yet. i am sure its fake statsments coz they don't wana send him before 9th and then they will make excuse we can't add him in the team against WI or later matches coz he hadn't any match practice. its just all drama not add him in 11 but i wama tell u if pak will go azher instead him pak will do worst thing, they will realize it when time will be over. i have never see a poor catain like inzi one of the dull captain from all the teams.

long tailend will hurt too much to pakistan in this world cup. for me azher is also a tailender.
and yasir is 10 times better to him. just note my words on ur heart. wooler will never bring new players in pak team. new players deosn't mean the pool of 30 players from last three years.

The answer that has left me wondering and pondering is where will Inzi bat? Can't wait and see! I do not have any issues with the way and style of Inzi's captaincy, and I am well aware of what people think, I am just not going to buy that. Good luck to him and the whole team!

there was nothing new in the interview, just diplomatic answers from bob. but putting everything behind, i am very excited about this WC and our team's chances. wish them the best of luck! CANT WAIT TILL MARCH 13, MAN!

i've been thinking Kamran, check this possibility out. take this scenario..TWO of pakistans current fast bowlers break a leg, meanwhile M.Asif &Shebbi are "recovering from their injuries" WINK WINK...is it possible for them to replace the injured players through the ICC? obviously at a very late stage,perhaps if pakistan get to the finals? is that enough time for the "WINK WINK" injuries to disapear. i cant believe how gutted i am. i dislike Shebbi off the field, perhaps he might open afew hospitals here there everywhere and win back my support for him. but i cant help but watch Youtube videos of shebbi when he was at full flight..UFFFF those inswinging snorter of a yorker deliveries especially the one to A.giles (England spinner).

i hope Haji saab, thats Afridi can do it for us...but i doubt it..THIS is WHY I LOVE PAKISTAN CRICKET..SO UNPREDICTABLE.with austrailia you expect them to win win win..and when they loose its abit of a so what really. England play so boringly its difficult to watch. Pakistan on the other hand..Every one of them wants to be in the new pepsi advert, a big hero and save the day..thats sumfing i love..lets make a comparison England need 20 to win off 30 balls..what do you think would happen?in comes flintoff and SINGLES ALL THE WAY HOME..safe and sound, dull and boring to watch. lets take pakistan, 20 to win off 30 balls..M.yousufs just gone, in comes razzaq..FIRST BALLS HE TRIES HOICKING OUT THE STADIUM..only to find himself balled out...THAT FEELING is SO SOOO WICKED THAT ADRENALINE..expectiing Razzaq to smash the first ball out the ground..feels so good, noing that he was going to be out like that weather its a duck or 67 seems not to add too much off the fact that his out now and in comes another batsmen..lol AFRIDI and he tries doing the same, and he gets out..ITS THAT THAT I LOVE..were as other teams would take it easy look for the singles..pakistani players come in..Havnt even got there eyes set on the ball..ignoring the fact that Inzys at the other end made 13 off 48 showing how difficult the pitch is to play..in comes the new batsmen and tries smashing it straight away.

COMON PAKISTAN...im not expecting you to do well BUT I SOO WANT YOU TOO..COMON AFRIDI LEARN HOW TO DIFEEND AFEW BALLS that LOOK NICE TO WATCH and not embarassing.Azhar, heres your chance, make us proud. noing selecters regardless of how well he does there just gunna treat him like rubbish and throw him back out.

Anway, is the first scenario possible, that of shebbi and asif coming back into the team after they recover from injuries,WHILE WE LOOSE two players due to injury? imagine bob woolmer walking around with a cricket back, who wants a broken arm or and injury free of charge(Obviously were gunna have to make the injury if the icc are gunna check the player),and a quick flight home,or WHO WANTS TO SACRIFICE THEMSELVES for the sake of our cricket so we can get our stike bowlers in?

take care

PEACE OUT

COME ON PAKISTAN you can doi if you B AND Q IT!!

Surely the most diplomatic answers since Maggie Thatcher - this guy deserves to be PM!! He committed to not a thing, gave nothing away - but reading between the lines, he knows our bowlers are not up to scratch.

Finisher? I've always thought Younis Khan could take this role, though it would be nice to develop a real no. 6 like Asim, Bazid, Hasan, Faisal or even Hameed. Sadly, none of them made it...

IT is all so CLEAR NOW after this interview... NOT!!!

WELL one thing I can say is that my previous predications in the previous blogs are coming true.

AS WE FOUND OUT THAT MALIK WILL BAT AT NO. 6.

THEREFORE... this is how the order has to look... 1. Nazir 2. Younis 3. Yousuf 4. Inzi 5. Afridi 6. Malik 7. Akmal 8. Mahmood 9. Arafat 10. Sami 11. Gul

There you have it... this is the best line up HANDS DOWN, pakistan has. And if they don't go with this and put RANA in... (where does he get his 'sifarish' from, must have some royal hook ups in PCB, to be avging 9rpo in his recent odis and still start)....yeah so if rana is in then we are going to get hammered.... NAZIR and Sami are going to be the heroes... as said before... KAMRAN NEXT TIME YOU MEET BOB, pLEASE GIVE HIM MY SUGGESTION OF LINE UP and stick with it even if they make mistakes cause it'll take a game or two before they settle in and the pressure of world cup eases...

Thanks
Sami

In the morning just before going to work, very quickly I glanced through the "Q&A with Bob Woolmer" on the blog, at that time there were (0) comments and now after 14 hours there are (77) comments. Whatever I was thinking about those Q&A, most of the posters have thought of the same i.e., it was a very subtle approach from Kamran Abbasi and a very diplomatic response! Except for Euceph Ahmad who thinks "Terrible questions, smart answers!" tsk, tsk, tsk, what a terrible response from smart Euceph Ahmad.

Bob is a smart cookie, he's been around in this business for quite sometime. I have said this before and I won't hesitate to say it again. "He is a cricket mercenary. Here today, gone tomorrow. His loyalties are not with any teams but, money!" I have heard his interviews on TV and there is always a kinda sinisterism in his approach and there is always something more than meets the eye. He never gives a straight forward reply, always dodge a question. As some of the posters have rightly suggested that Kamran Abbassi should have been more blunt and more straight forward in asking him direct and pertinent questions.

Things that needs to be looked up about Bob Woolmer's achievements:

1. Since he took over there are more injuries among the players, that means he has not taken proper care in training them and keeping them in good shape.
2. He hired the physio, trainer and doctor of his own choice so that he can have a mafia style clout. What have they done to keep the players fit? Nothing.
3. His specific assignment was to build a team for the world cup. What has he done? He has not been able to get a decent reliable opening pair.
4. Now, for the first time in the history of Pakistan playing the world cup, they don't have a front line pace bowling attack.
5. Realizing the weakness of Inzamam he has created a very good rapport with him and this way he was able to manipulate him and the rest of the team and even the PCB. Basically he is not a coach but, a TACTICIAN and that too only for his own benefit.
6. He negotiated a salary as big and as FAT as himself and added perks and benefits to make it even bigger. What did he give in return? Zero.
7. He was seen sitting behind a lap top all the time and people were singing songs of praise that Pakistan has got a very professional techno savvy coach. What has he given to the players? Did he show them their strengths and weakness? Never.
8. He was unable to rectify the simplest of mistakes that Pakistani openers have been doing in playing same shoddy shots again and again and getting out cheaply.
9. Has anyone ever asked him did he manage to prepare a second line of defense? That is, a back up plan in case of injuries he should have had new young talented players in every department. When everything else failed he had to look back to the old and tired horses like, Azhar Mahmood.
10. Did he ever think that the team needs a left hand fast bowler? Every team has at least one left arm seamer except for Pakistan. Why did he not groom one? What happened to Sami ullah Niazi or someone else I don't know of? This list can go on.

The problem is Pakistan's public in general and PCB in particular have this tendency to believe that, anything foreign is better than local. And this syndrome is all over the sub-continent, they are all sick of this disease of hiring foreign coaches. This is totally, utterly wrong kinda thinking. If you need to build a good team, why just hire a foreign coach only. Why not hire the best players from all over the world like it happens in soccer? You can make a very good team by hiring the best of Australia, England, SA, WI and NZ.

Those who raise their fingers at us - I mean myself who is in Canada and others who are in the USA or elsewhere, i.e., outside Pakistan - they not only think but, say that, we have changed because of living abroad, they should look at this aspect and analyze what they are saying, thinking and doing? They are the ones whose psyche is imbued with this notion of: "Imported goods are better than local goods." Perhaps they are consuming too much imported stuff! Sniff the beans and wake up. Get over with this complex and be DESI. Get Javed Miandad back or any of the heroes of the past and give them the respect they deserve instead of worshiping SNOW WHITE!.

I see the comments and other utterances by Pakistan fans and I have to feel sorry for poor Bob. Pakistan and its cricket will remain an enigma that no Englishman can hope to decipher.

i can't see any two persons expressing the the view-point. So you people can yuorself think how you will select the team if the job is given to some of you.Commenting something or criticising someone is very easy.

What i feel is that team should put their sincere and best effort. If they succeed it is good. But we can't expect them to win always. Everybody wants to win the world cup. But the team should should put their sincere effort.

I keep reading on how people are lamenting at Bob Woolmer for not revealing anything. Take a second and think about it.... Pakistan at the moment are a depleted side and their only hope is that the team clicks and pitches help. If Bob pours out valuable information, they will struggle in the super eights.

I do hope Pakistan behave like Italy in WC whereby sever adversity motivated the players enough to win the tournament. Sometimes the best side doesnt win and this can be seen on countless occassions.

Looking at warm-up matches on day 1 SA have proved they are pretenders to the No.1 spot which they are boasting about. SA better start winning more games; abroad and tournaments to be taken as a complete side and rightfully stay on the No.1 spot.

Anyways people can predict anything and to be fair pitches can never be predicted at any time. In my life i have seen pitches behave atsonishingly different between innings to the shock of commentators and coaches likewise.

Kamaran thanks for sharing that interview. Bob did the right thing by answering the questions in a diplomatic manner, I mean "HELLO" what do you expect him to do? Share the game plan, draft a game strategy for you guys to enhance your knowledge....tell you who is playing and who is not playing? who is playing at which position and what not.... comeon guys... grow up... I would be more pissed off with him if he share all the information, he put it very correctly, (thats for him to know and others to find out). Have you seen any coach who tell you his game plan before the game.....I doubt it...

Baakar questions and fazool answers. You would expect a coach to challange his men on and off the field....But Bob's answers seems like he has already planned his vacation after an early world cup exit...

I am sorry to say that some people have a very poor understanding on Cricket Technicalities. There are so many assumtions drawn from his interview that his angle of approach was totally misinterpreted. The word (If) is an anonymity that most teams are dealing with and Pakistan is not the only team dealing with it. According to Sanjay (If) india play upto its potential they don't have to fear any opposition.

On the eve of Pakistan's first warm-up match, I put a few questions to Bob. Here are his answers:

Question 1: Do you possess enough match-winning bowlers?

Bob's answer: We did but they is on drugs. Oh sry no they are injured.

Q2: The view from the boundary, and the living room, is that Inzy's captaincy style is too laid back. Is that true? Is he capable of great leadership?

Bob: Inzi's a fatty. The only place where he isn't laid back is at a restraunt. Ofcourse, provided the restraunt serves halal meat.

Q3: Where will he bat?

Bob: He saidhe's gonna try and bat at No.11. He knows it will take only 45 mins. for the first nine people to get out but he feels that that is enough time to get some Miccidies. He said he found a halal one.

Q4: The opening batsmen remain under pressure. Will you be trying any new strategies?

Bob: Well we're gonna go with Sami n' Gul as Openers cuz they can't possibly do worse.

Q5: Who is your finisher?

Bob: Our finisher? Oh we don't have one. We'll be all out at 20 overs.

Q6: Can your legspinners win you the World Cup?

Bob: Hell no! But they're gonna try cuz it's not like we have any good fast bowlers. They are all drugged. Oh sry they are all injured.

Q7: How do you expect the pitches to play? Will they suit Pakistan?

Bob: What were we talking about. (starts pouring down Jamaican hotsauce without realizing it) "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

Q8: Who do you see as Pakistan's main threats?

Bob: Well, I'm sure evero1 already knew this but we are vulnerable aganst every team because our team is filled with paindoos, and ppl that are concerned alot with something as trivial as their hair.

Q9: Which players will you be asking to stand up and lead by example?

Bob: I'm hoping Inzy will stand up because all he does is sit and sit and eat and eat all day.

I don't get this. Why is it that a whole bunch of people in this forum are agreeing with Bob Woolmer. Agree with what ??? Are these people high ...

The man hasn't said anything intelligent in this interview (or even done anything intelligent for Pakistan Cricket per se). I guess people are just happy that we have a gora coach to guide our clueless favorite province,,, smile ... perhaps to keep up with the Indians and the Sri Lankans.

How Bob communicate with Inzi?

I mean which launguage they speak.
Do they completely understand each other?

COMMUNICATION is the key for successes.

Currenly, we are missing this.

Bob looks like our Pathan Bhai.
I wanted to say him Bob Khan.

Gulab Khan
Peshawer

well well well. BoB at his best again. first off all i want to take time and thank Bob for what ever he has done for the pakistani cricket. hopefully the boys will follow up his plan and the future woulf turn out to be brighter.
repeating public opinion i woulf like to see yonis Khan to open the inning has he adds alot of stability to the side batting up the order.
For the world cup we can only win i each and every one of our boys stood up to the occasion.

This is great opportunity to test young players of their mettle. Kaneria,Arafat,Sami,Rao Ifetkar must be played in important WC matches. They are fresh,engergetic and young blood. We need long term stretegy. This shall pay dividends. No point in playing Azhar mahmood 30+ who was passenger in 03 WC and is a spent force , I am not too sure about his fitneess it apppears he is put on lot of weight.
The first match against WI shall show the spirit of PAK.

This honeymoon is all but over!

The fact of the matter is that Bob (The General) and Inzi (The Field Commander) look battle wary and have little or no strategy at hand to this moment.

Is Bob Woolmer taking a cue from Inzi’s laid back attitude?

His replies provide no evaluation of team prospects (critical or otherwise), lack vision and are outright evasive. It seems that the interview was thrust upon him and judging by the tone of his answers, he appears side stepping most questions like an un-willing customer. This is disappointing to the core in both its content and context.

The mega event is just one week away and the fans expected a better response and realistic approach from the team coach.

Bob took no pains to identify and pinpoint any grey areas for the team. There are more than a few of those weak links which ever way you take the count.

We all know that he needed no preparatory work on his laptop in order to entertain these simple queries. Furthermore, Kamran Abbasi had no ulterior motives when he approached Bob on behalf of team supporters.

Bob, continue to enjoy your marriage of convenience with Inzi. while it lasts.

We are willing to embrace one more reality; this honeymoon is all but over.

We wish Bob luck in his future endeavors!

Come March 13 - Let the World Cup Begin!

I think at this point avoiding direct answers is the best thing to do. By naming players or giving specifics he will not achieve anything at this stage. It will only put more pressure on the players and divulging strategic options will only help the opposition. So well done Mr. Woolmer. He has the toughest job in cricket right now as we in Pakistan are prone to blame everything that goes wrong on the foreign coach. Credit for everything positive goes to the captain and the team ofcourse. And some ex-Pakistan players are too keen on targeting Woolmer perhaps feeling that they should be in Woolmer's shoes. I hope and pray that all the good work he has done in the last two years ends creditably too. I fear that if we dont do well in the World Cup Woolmer will be the scapegoat for the whole country and we will forget all other factors contributing to our defeats.

Bob comments sounded more like of an insecure coach.Guys!this team is the WORST Team to be sent from all the previous world cups that Pak team has attended.
I am positive I am not going to watch any match of this world cup as I only watch cricket for Pakistan.I am a Crazy Pakistani who loves his team n can't see it getting battered n bruised.So i am off.This is what I have to say "dream for 2007 and redeem for 2011 worldcup" CHARIOS!

Thats Right Mr. Abbassi...talk about long hops and looseners..!!!
the fluffiest interview Ive seen for quite a while..maybe some pointed questions wouldve been better...
am a fan of ol' Bobs but still like to see him answer some questions that might put him on the spot a bit...plus Bob's diplomatic answers will probably give Kissinger a run for his money..

We all know how this storys going to end for Pakistan folks..and Im begining to fear that WC2007 is going to make WC2003 look like the good old days...thats how bad its going to be..

but..this is the lot that we Pakistan fans have been given and this is what we will take...

so am going to cheer for Pakistan with the thought that there's only one way to go when your this low..and thats up...
Come on Pakistan!