Co-starring: The Two Ws

New Zealander John Wright has features as rugged as the Southern Alps of his homeland, yet a smile as gentle as you would find; he’s open yet streetwise. That is what comes from playing for unfashionable teams such as New Zealand and Derbyshire, not one of the favoured counties and where even a midsummer’s day can end up with a shower of sleet.

Bob Woolmer had a father who worked in South Asia in the days of the Raj and after the Raj; his English public school upbringing at Tonbridge followed the route of Colin Cowdrey, later Lord Cowdrey of Tonbridge. It was also Cowdrey who interested Woolmer in the coaching mechanics of the game.

Given a close-up of his articulate mind during the 1995 South African under-24 team’s tour of Sri Lanka was an education as much off the field as on it. He also belongs to a select band of Test players who have successfully transferred his skills to coaching.

He pioneered the use of computer technology to suss out batting weaknesses and bowling strengths. During the 1996 World Cup, when South Africa played England, it had been noted that if Graeme Hick was starved of runs for a lengthy period he tended to try to break the stranglehold with a wristy flick that usually ended up in the mid-wicket region. Fanie de Villiers and Brian McMillan worked out the plan; Fanie sprung the trap and McMillan plucked the catch.

He has a calming influence too, and in a Pakistan team set up, overflowing as it can be with impulsive responses, Woolmer’s style of decorum is needed to settle the type of animated agitation that prevailed during Javed Miandad’s tenure.

But it is going to take more than one or two series to turn around decades of futile brilliance that has rarely managed to conquer fractured trends.

He once explained that coaching was based on a simple premise. His idea was to make the game enjoyable and fun. Do not have too many fielding practices that are the same. Change the formula and get the players thinking. Maybe good for Warwickshire and South Africa; Pakistan’s players have yet to learn the importance of the elaborate workings of Woolmer’s system.

If he felt the series in Australia was daunting, he should know that India is going to be a lot tougher.

Wright’s working as a coach in Woolmer’s old stamping ground Kent, where he spent four years, led him to India through Rahul Dravid. But there is far more to this relationship than a factfile of a few words. The manners of both are impeccable and to think that he won the job ahead of Greg Chappell says a lot for the quiet Kiwi.

He has introduced a coaching role and a playing culture in India that had long been missing but his intense passion for the game and the role he plays in helping India move up the rankings is not often appreciated outside the confines of the team.

He is the sort of coach who would go out in the broiling noonday Colombo sun and work during a lunch break with bowlers in a middle net, helping them to find the right length. It is one of the trademarks of the man. Hard work and a bit of sweat hurt no one but it can get results.

While he prefers the behind-the-scenes role, it has been his ability to transform India into a top nation and this success underlines his enormous achievement. It has made him competitive in his field and India realise through the Wright infusion, the importance of translating their enormous potential into results.

In doing this under Sourav Ganguly, Wright has moved the game into the new century while others are trying to catch up.

Question is, just how far behind is Woolmer?