MELBOURNE, Dec 22: Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer says constant criticism of his cricket team's miserable form against Australia was unhelpful.

Pakistan's dire 491-run defeat to the Australians in last weekend's first Test set off hostile scenes back home with cricket fans reportedly burning effigies of captain Inzamamul Haq and Woolmer to vent their anger over Pakistan's humiliating loss.

A crowd of 150 people in Karachi was said to have crushed a television set, vowing not to watch any more coverage of the Pakistan team's tour of Australia. Woolmer, under fire for the team's abject performances, on Wednesday responded frankly to the trenchant criticism of the team, saying his players deserved the barbs to some extent after their poor showing in the Perth Test. But he said constant negativity helped no-one. "It's the criticism before the match and the criticism continually of everything that undermines the players and everyone around the team," he said.

"I don't see the point of it, quite frankly - what are people trying to achieve? "For example, the burning of the effigies, are you trying to burn the people who are doing their job, instead of encouraging them?

"It's obviously something I will have to get used to and I don't want to get used to it, so we'll have to perform better. "It's a strange world we live in when people criticise you for not doing things you're already doing, because they don't know - they're six or seven thousand miles away."

Former Pakistan coach and cricket great Javed Miandad has attacked Woolmer. "After the defeat, Woolmer criticised his own players rather than handling the situation by motivating the players," Miandad said in a newspaper interview.

Woolmer, preparing the team for Sunday's second Test with Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, said former Australian coach Bob Simpson was among many people who had called him with advice.

"Bobby Simpson was very kind to phone me, I've been contacted by a number of people - now it's up to 16 people who have phoned me over the last two and a half days," Woolmer said.

"Part of the team meeting we had (after Perth), we discussed the role of a sports psychologist. "The team was adamant that they were very disappointed about what happened and they would like to handle it themselves.

"It doesn't mean I can't talk to these people and see if there's anything new on the market that might help the team. "Inzamam (captain) specifically was adamant that it's not outside help we need, we need to help ourselves and that was the most important thing I think that came out of the meeting." -AFP