Bob Woolmer: our current verdict

[Maranello]

There is a lot of discussion on other threads here about Woolmer's attributes and the positive changes brought in by him into the Pakistani set-up, so I thought it a good idea to start a separate thread on how we all think he is dong.

My feeling is that most Pakistani supporteres, not just here, but also in Pakistan (eg the hundreds who contribute to his web-site) and elsewhere, agree that Woolmer needs a lot more time. Good Test players are not manufactured overnight, and it takes even longer to mould good players into competitive teams. At the moment, apart from two exceptions, we do not even have any good players, chaps who would be contenders to play in the other quality Test teams around (India, England, SL). The two exceptions are of course Inzamam and Shoaib, but both are nearing the twilight of their careers, and though they are both miles ahead of the alternatives, their best days are definitely behind them.

Hence, making Pakistan competitive is a tall order; first BW needs to coach some good quality Test players, and the raw materials are there in the likes of Shoaib Malik, Razzaq, Sami, Kaneria, Salman Butt, Hasan Raza, Taufeeq Umar, Imran Farhat, Umar Gul and Shabbir. The next stage, after maybe 2-3 years, would to make the good Test players into a team which is more than the sum of its parts, and which works together, fights together and wins together as a unit, each player feeding off and benefitting from his fellow players.

All this requires time. Shahryar Khan, to his credit, recognises this and many Pakistani supporters agree with him. What do we all think?

[Maranello]

Even some of those who support the work Woolmer is doing as a coach, and want to give him more time, are unhappy about his policy of glasnost: open and frank communication with the fans and the media on his website and through regular press conferences. Also, some people criticise what they say is his habit of getting into verbal slanging matches, both with ex-players/coaches (eg Miandad, Zaheer), and with various writers in the press (Waheed Khan, Salahudin et al). It seems even the PCB Chairman Shahryan Khan subscribes to this view, at least in part.


I personally do not subscribe to this view. IMO, {i} he is not overly sensitive, just wants to set the record straight, {ii} his website is brilliant and very useful for sincere followers of Pakistan cricket, {iii} his interaction with the press is invaluable.

Woolmer was asked concerning this on his own website, his answer below:

Originally Posted by Bob Woolmer

REPLY BY: BOB, (24 Dec 2004, 01h19:57)

Hi arknair,
It is a catch 22 situation, the media, press (excuse the pun) me for answers and speak to me as many of the players are shy to express themselves. I would much prefer to get on with the job sorry the joy of coaching, however as criticism goes with the job especially when things go wrong that by just leaving things alone it adds fuel to the critics. By giving my and the teams view I feel that it gives the team encouragement that someone is fighting their cause.

I don't believe that I lash out at my critics but put the other view. However I am sensitive to the fact that I need to be more passive when it comes to the media and this will happen. In many ways a coach has to be a publicist because so many people do not realise what you do, they do not witness first hand your methods and methodology, they judge you only by results. If the side are successful then you are a good coach, there are many teams like Bangaladesh who struggle but that does not make Dav Whatmore a bad coach. he is working harder.

It is worth adding that I do not ask for the criticism it was forced on me from the word go "A foreign Coach" not the Pakistan coach. I also have the right to reply when I feel the critics are unjustified. As I have said on this site if you play badly you deserve criticism. The reality of all this is that the coach can never win!

I remain positive about everything that has to do with cricket. The team Pakistan has to have every help it can, my only role in life as coach is to help that team. The web site is a method of communicating with yourself and others. Mr Fareed's attitude is not reflected by many and if there are more than I will stop the Q & A immediately. In fact the thoughts going through my mind at present are that I will just have a forum and simply post up-dates. I do not make a penny from the site in fact it costs me money it is a service that I supply to the fans of cricket.

Interestingly the coaches you mention are not working with Pakistan, India has a far more rational press and support their team far more or at least that is the impression I have.

I enjoy and love the game and want to continue to give back to the game.

I trust this helps you to understand where I come from.
Bob

[Ernest]

Another key element of Woolmers presence in the dressing room will be his calming, reassuring yet determined manner. At times one got the impression that the Pakistani youngsters were overawed by Javeds presence in the dressing room and this perhaps generated additional pressure upon them.

Woolmer is a firm believer in player fitness, both physical fitness and mental fitness.

He needs some time, it would appear he will be more than capable of bringing the Pakistan team together as a unit, I have know Bob Woolmer as a man of determination, single minded to a point,and being a believer in physical and mental fitness, can only be a plus
I would say to Pakistan supporter, "be patient", don't get on his back if there is no imediate results, I think he will get you there.

Originally Posted by Cricinfo

especially for a man who, in only his second Test, saved England as they followed on against Australia by holding out for 499 minutes against Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson to score 149*

I watched this innings, it might soung boring, but believe me the cricket was nail biteing

[Maranello]

I couldn't agree more Ern, patience is the key!

By the way, is that a quote in your post ("Another key element of Woolmers presence...") ? If so, where from?

[Zainub]

I've voted for the option "Good start, but needs a lot more time to dilever". People might argue about how good the start he has given us really is but none of the other options coincided with my verdict of him and this was the cloest to what I think. I know though for a fact that if Javed Miandad was voting what his verdict would have been....in actual fact, under Woolmer we've played so far ONLY 3 tests, won 1, and lost the other two, both very comprehensively. ODIs wise, I think we've got a good win-loss record, including 4 straight victories against India, in 4 very diverse conditions (Colombo, Amstelveen, Birmigham & Kolcatta) but again, there were set backs with us losing the big matches after having done well in the not-so-big-matches. Two absymal, but in no way novel batting collapses saw us being bowled out really cheaply in a couple of important games (vs WI in the ICC CT SF & vs SL in the PakTel Cup TriNation Final). We have so far under him produced an array of contrasting results, with the only consistent thing about them being inconsistency it self.

But , as you say too M, there have been some very promising signs as far as individuals are concerned. I take the example first of Shoaib Malik. Before Woolmer he was batting at 6/7/8, hardly getting enough opportunities to tell the world about his true crudentials as a batsman, and a test berth not even in sight. Look at him now. Promoted to 3 in ODIs, he proved be our most consistent player this season, with both bat and bowl. Even in tests, he showed promise with the bat against Sri Lanka at home, and had it not been of the fact that we were playing in Perth we would have most certainly been picked in the test side for the first test too. Now though, Perth is out of the way and he is inline to play in Melbourne. All this aside he's had a good season with Gloucstershire, and aprat from very recent time when questions were raised about his action, he's been a lad high on confidence, feeling good about his cricket, and him self, I don't think there has ever been a time in his career before that I could have said about Shoaib Malik that he is now an integral and very important part of our team, the one-day one at least if not both. In an interview (here) he expressed how much he is a fan of our new coach. It is essentially players like Shoaib Malik who have benefitted most from some one like Woolmer. The ones who have are undoubtedly talented, but have under previous regimes not quite been able to express them selves as much as they are talented.

Woolmer now has not yet even had the proper chance of working with with the likes of Shabbir Ahmed and Umar Gul who are unfit and Taufeeq Umar who has not been picked, and even then we have shown enough promise to keep hope that given significant time, we will eventually live up to the dreams and expecatations of the fans. As you say M, the vast majority of Pakistani cricket followers realise Woolmer needs time. And those who don't are essentially proving they are not Pakistan cricket well wishers but they are thinking about themselves...either they are people who are syaing things b/c they are envious of him, and don't agree with his theories, or they are people who basically care about nothing then selling their papers, the rest, all have faith in Woolmer in the long term, and are willing to be patient for that. In a few years we will hopefully have a team that can seriously challenge the best teams in that time. And that can boast of players who'll make other sides just like that.

Right now what Woolmer has is similar to what an authour or novelist has at the start of his campaign to write a good book...a lot of ideas. When he finishes working on those ideas, we'll hopefully be something like a best-seller!

[Zainub]

Originally Posted by Maranello

I personally do not subscribe to this view. IMO, {i} he is not overly sensitive, just wants to set the record straight, {ii} his website is brilliant and very useful for sincere followers of Pakistan cricket, {iii} his interaction with the press is invaluable

I couldn't have agreed with that more. I know I said in another post that I'd like him to restrain his statements on team tactics (I said that in refrence to a specific issue, b/c I though him advising Shoaib about something and Shoaib disagreeing with it send the wrong messages out) but his communication with the press in general on issues like fitness of specific players/team morale/different players' reactions to diffferent situations and the team's reaction as a whole on their good/bad performances are inexplicably "invaluable" just as you say. Essentially, b/c Inzi is man of few words, and especially not that eloquant with the foreign press, and apart from Shoaib perhaps, no other team member is really to keen to come and speak to the press, Woolmer is the "sincere" fan/follower's only chance on getting to know what really is happening within the team. I absolutely love some of his insights (eg "we're not down but hurt" , "minds are like parachutes, they don't function unless they are open). His website as you say is a wonderful place, for any cricket fan in general IMHO and not just Pakistani followers, it is noteworthy to point out that he has had this Q/A session long before he was our coach, of coarse the influx has increased leaps and bounds following his becoming a coach but I for once don't think him answering questions of fans is doing any harm. If anything, it is enhancing his reputation amongst the fans. I hope he doens't stop the Q/A thing. I can't say enough how much sympathy I have with him on how he's been talked about in the Pakistani press, the constant refrence to him being a forein coach is disgusting, and I have a lot of sympathy for him in that regard.

[Maranello]

On the press issue: upon reflection, the press' treatment of BW is not that bad. Whatever the Pakistani press have been saying about Woolmer, it has not come close to the vitriol, the intrusions, the rumours and innuendo, the lies and the sheer hatred some sections of the English tabloid press reserve for Sven-Goran Eriksson, and which comes out whenever England lose at soccer or Eriksson is caught with his pants down - both relatively regular occurrences it seems.

Though I agree that the Pakistani media does get out of hand and loses perspective regularly on cricket, it's no worse than the media in most other countries, and is definitely not as rapacious, aggressive or all-powerful as the likes of Murdoch, Rothermere and Desmond et al are (the honourable proprietors of The Sun, Mail, Mirror and Daily Sport etc).

[Zainub]

May be its not as bad as the others but pretty bad on its own to be called just bad. Bad enough to be not called "not that bad"... if that makes any sense and if you know what I mean...

Woomer has got a treatment. There are endless reminders to how much he earns and that he's English. And reminders of his time with SA, and how they become chokers and how Cronje match fixed under his term as coach. And reminders of all sorts of thing. No way near enough credit given when there should have been. No mention at all (what so ever) of the positive change in attitude he has brought in some of the leading players of the side. No mention at all of how some players have really realised their true potentials and played well in his term. It's bad enough in my opinion, to be called just bad. You are right about our press not being as power full as the other world press b/c only a limited amount of people have access to it so it's less likely to have as much of an influence on forging an opinion amongst the masses as others have in say England, Aus etc. But it doesn't make such press good. Most certainly not in my eyes. I guess you just have to deal with it.

I'm less disapointed with the print media, more so with the electronic media. People like Sikander Bhakt (resident analysit for Private News Channel Indus Plus News) never cease to latch on to any opportunity to accuse him of all sorts of things. It tatally daft.

[Maranello]

How much he earns is a matter of public interest, since it's eventually public monies - the PCB is sponsored by the government, and its Patron-in-Chief is the President of the Republic!

All the points that you raise are valid points for journalistic enquiry, and are all factual events. The press should question why SA were chokers, and why Cronje and the rest could carry on match-fixing right under Woolmer's nose. However, this coverage should be balanced, and not focus on personal attacks. In that, I agree, the press' treatment has been distasteful and jingoistic, but they are doing what needs to be done to sell copy, and as I said, no worse than the press in any other free society.

They have not sent the paparazzi chasing after Woolmer every night and day, made caricatures of him, spread racist remarks, created lies and innuendo, etc. All that would be truly shameful.

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by Maranello

I couldn't agree more Ern, patience is the key!

By the way, is that a quote in your post ("Another key element of Woolmers presence...") ? If so, where from?

Maranello, I remembered that innings of Bob Woolmer, it shows the temperment of the man, I have mentioned it as a memorable innings on other threads.

I thought I wouls have a rare look on Cricinfo, and read his profile, and to my delight, the innings was mentioned.

He was not a great success as a Test Player, but he played to the best of his abilities, I regard Bob Wiilmer,

http://www.cricinfo.com/link_to_data...R_RA_01001449/

Read his profile above.

I think you will like reading of his success as a coach.