One is the quiet, reserved type who doesn’t say much in public, the other is very much in your face. One is the thinker, the other — for want of any other word — the actor. As their teams lock horns in the gladiatorial contest, the ones pulling the strings — John Wright and Javed Miandad — will also be on test.And one of those keenly watching from the sidelines is Intikhab Alam, Pakistan’s longest-serving coach and an admirer of Wright’s.Alam was the only coach for Pakistan who never faced the axe for more than a decade after he assumed charge in 1982. He was, in many ways, the brain behind the successful Imran Khan era. The icing on the cake, of course, was the 1992 World Cup win. Try asking him who was the best coach ever, he thinks for a while and says ‘‘very difficult’’. Ask him again, he says, ‘‘Simpson was good wasn’t he, the essential part was that he gave the results.’’That in the essence is Alam’s philosophy: the team that wins has the best coach, so it is interesting to know from him what he thinks of the two coaches.‘‘John’s (Wright) style is very much like what I liked to be. You see, coaches like John are very focussed and they do the talking where it matters, so make no mistake he is a very good coach.’’ So does Miandad lose out in comparison? ‘‘They are essentially two different personalities so it’s no use comparing them. Javed is full of life, very chirpy and uses different methods to pep up his team.’’Now retired and away from the game, Alam spends most of his time coaching at a cricket academy at Muridke, near Lahore. But when he does get time, there is no stopping him from talking cricket. Friday was one such occasion as he waited for his turn to check in at the Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport.As the topic of discussion shifts from the coaches to the teams, Alam expresses doubts about India’s bowling. ‘‘Yesterday was disappointing wasn’t it,’’ he says referring to India’s loss in the warm-up match to Pakistan ‘A’, but he tries to play soothsayer saying ‘‘but we should try to reading not too much into it.’’Alam enquires about India’s injured stars Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Ajit Agarkar. On hearing the status reports, the former Pakistan coach gives a concerned look. The gates are thrown open and it is time to get into the flight.
