Woolmer has a good feeling about Pakistan

Bob Woolmer is confident — despite his new team Pakistan failing to make the Asia Cup final — that Pakistan are starting to develo...

Bob Woolmer is confident — despite his new team Pakistan failing to make the Asia Cup final — that Pakistan are starting to develop into a competitive side. He admitted to viewing India’s four-run victory against Sri Lanka with some alarm and brushed aside criticism of Pakistan’s approach during the final overs of the game against India and said the approach was to keep it tight.

‘‘So much has been aired on the subject that I would rather now concentrate on building up the side for the tournament in Amsterdam,’’ he said. ‘‘We are building a side and there are structures in place to create a second side. You see so many fast bowlers in the streets that it reminds me of the West Indies a decade or two ago.’’

The former South Africa coach added, ‘‘What we have to do is harness this talent and develop the second structure. All this takes time, but right now my main focus is on the series in Amsterdam and get the players’ minds right in terms of the job ahead. I have seen a lot of improvement in the side during this tournament and that is encouraging. Had it not been for one bad session, I know we would have been in the final against Sri Lanka.’’

Looking ahead, he said, ‘‘We will be reviewing the match against India and our Asia Cup series as a whole and making sure that we do not repeat those errors. There is a tour of Australia later in the year apart from the Champions Trophy and we know there is a lot of work to do.’’

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