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Woolmer warns against complacency

Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, has cautioned that the players could not afford to be complacent after saving the first Test at Mohali

Cricinfo staff
14-Mar-2005


Bob Woolmer: 'We are here to win the series' © Getty Images
Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, has cautioned his players against complacency after they saved the first Test at Mohali against all expectations. Talking to AFP, he put the game in perspective: "After all it was a draw and we are here to win the series. It's the first step in the right direction and to grow as a team we need to take such steps on a regular basis."
Speaking about the efforts of Akmal and Razzaq, he said: "When we reached the ground there was a mood of determination to save the Test and the way Akmal and Razzaq played was tremendous. I am on record saying that Akmal can bat and he got an opportunity and made the most of it. The state of the pitch also helped them bat with ease but their efforts should not be undermined by that." Akmal made 109, becoming only the fifth Pakistani wicketkeeper to score a Test hundred, while Razzaq made a patient and uncharacteristically restrained 71.
Woolmer also complained that the Pakistan bowlers hadn't come to grips with the SG balls being used for in India. "I am not making any excuses but the ball used in India doesn't seem to swing and the advantage of a new ball was not there."
Meanwhile, Pakistan's amazing fightback in the Mohali Test has come in for fulsome praise from Hanif Mohammad, the former captain and legendary opening batsman. "This is simply one of the finest fightbacks," Hanif told Press Trust of India. "Playing in such tremendous pressure was no joke and Kamran [Akmal] and [Abdul] Razzaq achieved accomplished the task in style with cool heads."
Akmal's innings even moved Dinesh Karthik, the Indian wicketkeeper, to say that he had been inspired: "It was good to see a wicketkeeper score runs, Karthik told The Indian Express. If there was one thing I want to pick from his showing, it would be the relaxed manner in which he batted. I have certainly been inspired by what he did." Karthik himself has had a poor trot with the bat in Test cricket - seven innings have fetched him just 103 runs at 14.71, and at Mohali he had another failure, scoring just 6.