Pakistan can do no worse in Test that it did against Western Australia. When a host country draws up a tour itinerary is that it? Is there any scope for negotiating some changes or making revisions?

The Indians, of course turned the itinerary upside down, wanting to play the ODI's ahead of the Test matches and refusing to play Tests in Karachi and Peshawar. But that was not a run-of-the-mill tour and so eager were we to have that tour that we agreed. I raise this point because the first Test against Australia is to be played at Perth, which is a way of saying that no mercy will be shown.

The Perth wicket is one of a kind, indeed, the only one that has extra bounce that can leave batsmen of a visiting team shell-shocked. More than technique, one needs a certain amount of courage to cope with deliveries that whistle past the ear.

Kim Hughes, a former captain of Australia has already detected that the Pakistan batsmen were playing away from their body. It was a polite way of saying that they were not coming in line because of a fear-factor.

I think the PCB should have told Cricket Australia that Perth should be the last Test and not the first because a visiting team carries the scars of Perth throughout the tour. The hosts may not have agreed but it was worth the shot.

I don't think Pakistan can do worse in the Test than it did against Western Australia. One can understand the batting failures but what about the bowling? Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami should have relished the Perth wicket and Pakistan could have sent its own message that it too had fire-power.

Yet Western Australia was able score 400 runs and Imran Farhat was Pakistan's most successful bowler! To me that is the more worrying aspect. No one has played a greater role in the resurgence of the England team as power-house than Steve Harmison.

He may not be the quickest in terms of kilometers per hour but he is the world's most intimidating fast bowler. His height is an advantage but he's right on the money when it comes to aggression.

He's at the batsmen the whole time, his target the rib cage which means, among other things, that he is bowling to a plan and with discipline. I am sorry that someone like Imran Khan or Wasim Akram are not around to tell Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami how to bowl on Australian wickets, particularly at Perth.

The start of the tour of Australia has been more than disappointing. It has been something of a shambles. The team just doesn't seem to be clicking. I don't buy into the argument that it is a young team or an inexperienced one.

This would be true of the present Zimbabwe team. But Inzamam, Yusuf Youhana, Abdul Razzak, Shoaib Malik, Shoaib Akhtar, Yunus Khan, Mohammad Sami can't be called rookies and they have been around for a few years.

If anyone can be considered young and inexperienced it is Salman Butt and he's the one batsman who has been among the runs. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that the team selected for this tour was the best possible. It should not be losing to Western Australia and even more discomforting to Western Australia's Second X1.

The team wants for nothing. It has a coach who is reputed to be among the world's best and a support-team. It has the full backing of the PCB who has gone that extra mile by rewarding the players with central contracts which is more money in the bank and which on the present performance is what Karl Marx would have called "unearned income."

Perhaps, the players have been pampered a little too much and the PCB has gone way beyond the principle of an honest wage for an honest day's job. But there also should be an appropriate wage for a shoddy day's job. I am not convinced that the team is playing to its potential.

Bob Woolmer is an Englishman and, perhaps, he should emulate Lord Nelson who told his sailors that "England expects everyone to do his duty." He should tell the players their country expects that they should give their best.

I am certainly not writing off Pakistan for the first Test. Pakistan has the knack of rising to the occasion and surprising everyone, including themselves. But as matters stand, I don't think that Ricky Ponting will be having sleepless nights.

India made short work of Bangladesh and Sachin Tendulkar batted his way back into form with a double century and Irfan Pathan had a match haul of 11 wickets. But the Bangladesh selector and commentator Athar Ali hit the nail on the head when he said that Bangladesh was looking forward to a "huge series" ahead.

He was referring to Zimbabwe's tour of Bangladesh. It won't be a clash of the titans but it may allow Bangladesh to notch its first ever Test win. And it will be good for Bangladesh cricket. It must be lonely being at the lowest rung of the ladder.

I got a Season's greeting card from the ICC but it carried hand-written personal messages from Ehsan Mani and Malcom Speed to me. It made me feel special to be thanked for my contribution to world cricket.

Since I don't send cards and Ehsan Mani and Malcom Speed read this column, let me too extend my greetings to them and wish them all the best and my appreciation for doing such an outstanding job in making the ICC a meaningful governing body.