September 20, 2006	Wednesday	Sha'aban 26, 1427

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KARACHI, Sept 19: Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said on Tuesday that he is keen to build his team into a stronger unit for next year’s World Cup. Woolmer, who flew off to Cape Town at the end of recent tour of England, expressed hope that Pakistan will bounce back from the disappointing series against England.

“The forthcoming events give us the opportunity to build the team into a better and more effective unit,” he said while talking to Dawn.

The coach, who is now heading to Barbados for a two-day World Cup meeting of team managers, has recovered from a knee injury he sustained towards the end of England tour.

“Thankfully, the knee is on the mend. After the long tour, I needed a break and that’s why I spent a week in Cape Town with my wife who I have not seen for three and a half months,” he pointed out.

The former England batsman who also coached South Africa during the ‘90s took the spate of criticism, mostly from former Pakistan skippers Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, in his stride after Pakistan lost the Test series 3-0 and shared the One-day International rubber after leading 2-0 in the contest.

“It is easy to be critical when you lose. The blame culture remains a factor in Pakistan sport. More importantly, constructive criticism is very rare,” he lamented.

“Of course, both Imran and Javed have a right to express their opinions as does everyone in life. Those of us who are responsible for the team’s performance have to deal with the problems as they come.

“We do our best and when we lose we take the blame. Anyone who has played at the highest level realizes that it is not easy to win every game and also know the disappointment that comes with it.

“Clearly, at the end of the day it is not nice to read ex-captains and great players expressing their views through the media in a negative way,” said Woolmer.

“It would be more constructive to find out what has been happening and then they would be able to put forward a more credible opinion.”

Imran squarely blamed Woolmer for not planning properly during the England tour while leaving (captain) Inzamam-ul-Haq clueless on the field.

But the coach insisted that in the given situation, the team tried its best but luck deserted them. “For example, on the point of strategy. Naturally, it is discussed well before the match but during the game players have to adjust to the conditions and inevitably strategies change,” Woolmer emphasized.

“Whatever happens on the field is backed by the whole team. Reality suggests that if the opposition plays better than you then you, more often than not, lose. That the team worked extremely hard and were very disappointed in the final results is for everyone to see. But there were positives and we will take them and build upon them.

“Our performances in the first four one-day games including the Twenty20 were most encouraging. Our last two games were disappointing but in the last game the toss was very significant. It happens and we have to face it,” he said.

While critics pointed out that Pakistan were found wanting in fielding and fitness departments during the tour, Woolmer stoutly defended his team. “Pakistan team is physically fit and they train daily. If we lose players through injury we can do nothing about that, especially the injuries that suddenly occur.

“This has been the same since the game began. We have a good team and they are working very hard to keep themselves fit. Fielding is a problem and we work at it relentlessly. We have good days also which are never highlighted and only the bad days are quoted when we lose,” he complained.

In Woolmer’s opinion, the high points of England tour were the performances of vice-captain Younis Khan, pacer Mohammad Asif and middle-order batsman Mohammed Yousuf.

And the low point? “The Oval Test match of course,” came the reply from the burly coach.

Woolmer, an out-and-out optimist, believes that there is still a lot of room for improvement as the team prepares for next year’s World Cup. “Preparations for the World Cup continue all the time. If we are satisfied now then we will never be competitive enough at the World Cup.”

Woolmer hinted that the national squad would be undergoing special training, similar to those recently planned by Australia and India.

“We will be discussing these and other plans and implementing them nearer the World Cup. I have seen and used techniques such as these with other teams and they do help a bit.”

Woolmer is expected to reach Lahore in the first week of October after attending Inzamam's Code of Conduct hearing by ICC match referee in London on Sept 27 and 28.

“We will be having a three-day camp in Lahore from Oct 4 before we go to India for the ICC Champions Trophy on the 7th,” he concluded.