Woolmer not getting carried away by Test wins
Bureau Report

LAHORE—Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, believes they do not take any psychological advantage from the Test series win over England into the one-day series. Speaking to reporters at Gaddafi Stadium after a strenuous practice session, Woolmer said: “I don’t believe in psychological advantages. This is a new series, a new situation and one-day cricket is very different from Test cricket”.
But Woolmer admitted that the team was in buoyant mood after the Test series and looking forward to extending an impressive ODI winning streak of seven matches. “The confidence is there because the team is winning and winning breeds confidence. This is a new tournament and we have to put the Test matches to bed briefly before India come. Although we have won our last seven matches, we haven’t played for three and a half months. This is the first ODI, it’s a new cricket game. In sport if you leave something and then come back to it you have to relearn it a bit. We start the series knowing it is 50-50 between us and England”.
Over the last year, with the absence at various times of key players, Pakistan have developed a large ODI squad and further enhanced their strength in depth. Their problem, therefore, during the ODI series is likely to be one of too many options and finding the right balance. As Woolmer admitted, it is a pleasant dilemma.
“Too many players is a good problem to have. There are players not in the squad at the moment like Bazid Khan who did really well against England in the last match. There are people on the periphery who are fighting to get in and we have to recognise that those players are there. The most important thing though is to keep the team spirit, keep everyone fit and firing. The longer we can keep a team together the more you can get them into form, the more experience you have on the field the better that team will do”.
The final playing XI is likely to be a fluid one during this series; Woolmer said after the Test series that he was planning to experiment with players’ roles in the ODIs. Shoaib Malik is unlikely to play the first match as he only arrives back from Australia on Friday after undergoing biomechanical analysis of his action. This increases the possibility that Kamran Akmal will be given a chance as opener again, with Younis Khan batting higher up the order than he generally does in ODIs. Akmal scored a century as opener against the West Indies in Australia in January this year.
The experimentation is part of a long-term strategy for the World Cup in the West Indies in 2007. With the improvement they have shown in the shortened game since Woolmer took over, Pakistan are likely to be one of the contenders in 15 months’ time. Woolmer said: “I definitely think we are on the right track for the World Cup. It’s a long way to go, it’s a long railroad. We have to make sure we keep the team on the track. We have to make sure we have plenty of people in reserve, we have to make sure we keep people as fit as we can. There will be injuries along the way and we have to look after them. We have to be on the ball all the time”.
Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, meanwhile, has asked for as many people as possible to come to the first ODI at Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday. The gate receipts from the match are to be donated to relief efforts for survivors of the devastating earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on October 8 and has so far claimed an estimated 80,000 lives. “My request is that people come and watch the match. The winter has set in there and conditions will get worse so we need to help our people as much as possible. We should help them in any way possible and one way is to come to watch the match.” The official capacity of the ground is 25,000 and tickets have been sold out.
Inzamam also said that although Pakistan will be confident going into the first game, they will not underestimate England. “The boys are very confident after the Test series, but this is a different ball game altogether and we will have to plan differently for it. England is a strong team who can fight back at any given stage. We will not be taking them lightly at all and there will be no overconfidence on our part”.