KOLKATA, March 14: Coach Bob Woolmer on Monday was advising his players not to be complacent after Pakistan squashed a great Indian dream in the first Test at Mohali last week.
With the second game of the three-match series beginning on Wednesday at the Eden Gardens, Woolmer remarked that there was no need for them to get excited.
“We played well in Mohali, it was a rearguard action but all that is history now and we now have to move on.”
Kamran Akmal collected his maiden Test hundred and Abdul Razzaq hit a valuable 71 runs as the two staged a rescue act with a 184-run partnership for the seventh wicket to save the match.
“I am hopeful that the whole team would have learnt from Kamran how to apply themselves.”
As the Pakistan team arrived here on Sunday evening, they had a lengthy training session at the stadium on Monday and the coach said that his side required only tactical changes for the Test.
“I wouldn’t want to change the team too much after a good performance.”
“From the batting point of view we are trying to find a good opening combination. Salman Butt and Taufeeq Umar are young but I don’t think we can sit and say they are going to be the two openers until they start performing on a regular basis.”
Salman could manage only 10 runs in both innings while Taufiq had scores of 44 and four as Pakistan’s start continued to be poor, especially in the second innings when they were reduced to 10-3 inside five overs.
There were unconfirmed reports that Yasir Hameed might be called in.
Terming the wicket for the Test as fantastic, Woolmer said it didn’t look much different than the last time he saw it but there were still two days to go, so it was too early to make predictions.”
Woolmer, who played 19 Tests for England and once coached South Africa called upon his players to stay focused in front of what was expected to be a noisy crowd at the Eden which can hold up to 100,000 spectators.
“It is a big crowd here, and they make a lot of noise. I think the players would have tasted that in Mohali, especially on the last day when Harbhajan Singh came on to the field and started to whip the crowd on.
“That’s the time when Razzaq and Kamran fell.
“Obviously these are tactics that the home side can use but the players really have to focus on their game in such a situation.”
He was full of praise for spinner Danish Kaneria, who bowled brilliantly in the first Test.
“He is like a diamond ring, a jewel in our attack. A potentially very fine bowler, bowled really well in Mohali on a good batting pitch.
“At the moment he is showing that he is one of the best leg spinners in world cricket. He has the benefit of age, is young and has time to grow and get better.”
Woolmer believes that Pakistan still have a long way to go in the longer version of the game.
“We have got a success ratio of 68 per cent in one-dayers while in the Tests it is about 40.
“If you look at in purely statistical terms, we still have a long way to go in Test matches but our one-day cricket is on track.”
The coach did not seem too concerned with the bad press that he has been getting of late in Pakistan.
“I have yet not had any good press and I am not going to worry too much about it; I guess we have to win every single game and the World Cup to get good press. But certainly we are aiming towards that.”
