Woolmer calls for ICC support to bowlers

Sa'adi THAWFEEQ

CRICKET: Former England Test cricketer and coach of the Pakistan team Bob Woolmer said that there should be a balance between bat and ball and that the International Cricket Council (ICC) should look deeply into allowing bowlers to have some kind of advantage.

"We've got a situation where the batsman has gone too far," said Woolmer referring specifically to the record breaking one-day international between South Africa and Australia at Johannesburg where a total of 872 runs were scored.

"When you have a match like that everyone says it is the greatest game ever. But I don't personally agree with that because it is too many runs and the bowlers are taking a huge whack. Who'd want to be a bowler in that game," said Woolmer who was one time head of the ICC's high performance program.

"I think there should be a little bit more in it for the bowlers. The pitch must have a balance, the type of surfaces you play on. That's one of the areas people will have to look deeply into," Woolmer continued.

"The ICC should allow a little more encouragement to a bowler like rubbing the ball on the ground to get more spin or scratch the ball to get reverse swing going. As long as they are not using artificial substances it should be allowed," he said.

Further Woolmer stated: "The cricket balls we use today should be looked at how we can swing more rather than it going straight. What's the point of having a ball going straight all the time? You need to see some swing and test the batsman.

The ball should be doing something. If you allow the ball to swing, you got something in favour of the bowler. You need to get the balance between bat and ball better."

Woolmer said that there was so much one-day cricket now that series tend to mould into each other.

"There is one really important one-day competition. The World Cup is the most important one-day competition. The three one-day games against Sri Lanka I see it as important in our development to the World Cup," said Woolmer.

"Every international series has its level of importance. What level you put in that importance depends on where you are. You have the ICC standings which is slowly gaining more credibility.

I don't think it works 100 percent. You can sit there for two months doing nothing and you can go down six places in the rankings because all the other teams are playing. It's a fluid thing," Woolmer stated.

"It would give cricket more credibility in the rankings if you have a set league system where everyone played everyone else over a period of 4-5 years in Tests and ODIs. It will have much more credibility," he said.

Woolmer said the on-going three-match one-day international series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan could turn out to be who plays in the play-off of the ICC Champions trophy.

"You are suddenly under pressure to win all the time. The bottom is winning and losing. Although you've got the all the best players in the world, there is no guarantee that you are going to win," said Woolmer.

"In Sri Lanka's case when they played India here they beat them. When they went to India they got thrashed. Suddenly it is completely a different ball game. People have to be more prepared for teams winning and losing," he said. Woolmer said that even Australia has to learn to be prepared to lose more now because other sides are catching up.

"They are still a very fine side and difficult to beat, but they are beatable now. They don't have that stranglehold that when they walk onto the field that they are going to win. The sides are going to be very level at the 2007 World Cup," he said.

Woolmer said that cricket is on the biggest high of all time at the moment.

"We are in a situation where the administrators need to cash in on the massive public support of the game. The perception of the game being one of the best now is huge, far better than when it was maybe three years ago," said Woolmer.

"The Ashes series in England changed everyone's perception of five-day cricket. Cricket has a huge responsibility to cash in and to make sure this energy now is really built on."