COACH Bob Woolmer has already called it the litmus test. As such, the triangular tournament involving, other than Pakistan, India and Australia, does carry a lot of significance. The second part of this litmus test is said to be the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy in England. Woolmer, indeed, is a brave coach, as by making such pronouncements he is raising the stakes, for it will be as much a litmus test for the boys as for himself in his capacity as the national coach.
But Woolmer is also an intelligent soul, and has tried to preempt any future eventuality by making clear that the coach is “as good as his players”. That being so, Woolmer should not have been with the team in the first place, because he is coaching the same bunch of individuals who were under the charge of Javed Miandad. But, then, logic is almost always the first casualty when it comes to decision-making within the PCB.
In the same breath, Woolmer also lamented the fact that the team was criticized after the Asia Cup despite winning four out of five matches, which he still thinks was a great achievement regardless of the fact that three of them had come against sides that count for nothing in international cricket.
The Holland outing is a short one and there is little room for error as both Australia and India are better teams in terms of available talent, mental toughness and the intensity that they bring to their game. While Australia will naturally like to continue their supremacy in world cricket, the Indians will be out to set off their below par performance at the Asia Cup which was held in Sri Lanka.
Not many may like it, but the fact is that the Pakistanis are the underdogs in the three-nation competition. Despite their win against the Indians during the Asia Cup, they have yet to do a lot to convince their detractors. I wish the team and its management well, but I would prefer to wait for a while and see them take the litmus test before being sure of all the claims that are being made about the unit.
I also wonder about the impact on the players that the recent spate of controversies may have. I am obviously referring to the rather abrupt resignation of Pakistan Cricket Board’s Chief Executive Officer and his tit-for-tat allegations about the PCB Treasurer who has also resigned, and, indeed, the somewhat unconvincing performance of the PCB Chairman in front of the Senate Committee on Sports, which is for some time investigating the affairs of the Board.
As I see it, the players have every right to feel upset by the financial scandal that has rocked the Board. After all, it is the players who earn the money for the Board and not the other way round, and if that money is not properly handled, the players would be well within their rights to feel indignant. This is not to suggest that something did actually go wrong on this count within the PCB. But naturally the players would know only as much as we all do through the newspapers, and there has been much mud-slinging going on in their columns of late.
In response to certain allegations levelled by the former Treasurer, the ex-CEO has said that the decisions in question were taken in consultation with the PCB Chairman, which basically means that if the allegations do turn out to be true even the Chairman will find himself in hot waters. As he did on several occasions in the past, the former CEO has threatened to take everyone to court, and I hope that he does that this time so that the controversy may come to some conclusive end one way or the other. The sooner, the better.
COACH Bob Woolmer has already called it the litmus test. As such, the triangular tournament involving, other than Pakistan, India and Australia, does carry a lot of significance. The second part of this litmus test is said to be the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy in England. Woolmer, indeed, is a brave coach, as by making such pronouncements he is raising the stakes, for it will be as much a litmus test for the boys as for himself in his capacity as the national coach.
