Pakistan embrace the era of the super-coach

After a period of barely relenting turmoil, today's announcement from the Pakistan Cricket Board may finally signal an upturn in the fortunes of their national team. It has taken several years, and even more false starts, but the PCB has finally swallowed its pride and embraced the era of the super-coach.

Bob Woolmer's appointment is wonderful news, not only for Pakistan, but for Test cricket as a whole. For too long, Pakistan has been caught in a self-defeating cycle of mistrust: from Justice Qayyum's match-fixing inquiry, through the protracted retirements of Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, to the controversial tenure of Rashid Latif; every step of the way has been dogged by scheming and scapegoat-seeking. Defeat to India may have been the last straw for the old regime, but on this evidence, it may eventually prove to have been a well-timed straw.

Though Javed Miandad was unquestionably a great batsman, his man-management skills have persistently been found wanting, throughout his playing days as well as his coaching career. That much could be gleaned from his record as Pakistan captain - in 124 Tests, he was captain for just 34 of them, and those came in six separate stints as well. When reviewing his recent autobiography, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack described Miandad as a man who displayed "no false modesty, and for that matter, no genuine modesty either". In the tinderbox of Pakistan cricket, he was always likely to be a dangerous spark.

Woolmer, on the other hand, is something else entirely. As with the cream of the modern crop of coaches - Bangladesh's Dav Whatmore, Australia's John Buchanan, and England's Duncan Fletcher - Woolmer's unspectacular playing career is central to his success. He was by no means a failure (he made three centuries in 19 Tests, at an average of 33.09), but the bottom line with all of the above is that perspiration, not inspiration, is the key to success as a Test cricketer.

As South Africa's coach between 1994 and 1999, Woolmer is well-used to the workings of a politicised board, and since then, his experiences as the ICC's high-performance director can only have improved his diplomatic skills. But it is as an innovator that he will come into his own. It was Woolmer who first pioneered the use of computers as a training aid, and under his guidance, South Africa were transformed into the best one-day side in the world, and a Test team that could only be bettered by Australia.

The talent within the Pakistan ranks has never been in question. It is the cohesion that matters. With Woolmer at the controls, Pakistan at last have an opportunity to pull out of their tailspin, and return to the top table of Test cricket, where they have always belonged. It is a development of which the West Indies Cricket Board, in particular, would do well to take note.