Pakistan aim for Series win against England: Woolmer
Pakistan Times Sports Desk

MULTAN: Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said his team would not rest on their laurels following their win in the first of three Tests against England.

"The Test was superb for a start. It is a great win for the team, but there is a lot of cricket left and the goal is to win the series," Woolmer told AFP on Thursday after his team’s 22-run win.

England, playing their first Test after winning the Ashes series against Australia at home in September, were bowled out for 175 while chasing a 198-run target on Wednesday.

Woolmer warned his team against complacency, saying England could strike back in the remaining matches.

"That was only one game and we need to keep our feet on the ground," he said. "England will play better. They have not done that in warm-up matches and perhaps (Michael) Vaughan will be fit for the second Test."

Vaughan missed the first Test here due to a knee injury.

The Pakistani coach praised his bowlers for scripting a sensational victory after being under pressure for a major part of the match.

Leg-spinners Danish Kaneria claimed four wickets on a worn fifth-day track, while pacemen Shoaib Akhtar grabbed three and Mohammad Sami two.

"Kaneria has a big heart and has the will to do well. He is still young and has time on his side to develop more," said Woolmer, a former England batsman who took over as Pakistan’s coach last year.

"Akhtar bowled superbly. His attitude was fantastic and he said before the series he was due to start a new chapter in his life and I am happy," said Woolmer, 57.

The love-hate relationship between Akhtar and Woolmer was the talking point in the Pakistani media, with the England series being described as the last chance for the temperamental fast bowler.

Woolmer said the most encouraging thing was the team’s ability to bounce back from the brink.

"We were looking down the barrel of a gun for a long time, so the fightback was good. The process, in fact, started at Mohali," he said, referring to his team’s creditable draw from a losing position in India this year.

Woolmer conceded his team had lost the advantage of winning the toss on a good pitch after scoring only 274 in the first innings.

"We did lose the initiative and looked behind on all four days. England outplayed us for two-and-a-half days, but cricket is a game in which you just hang on and things change.

"We did that and bowled England out when they could have got 500 and that was the important session for us on the third day. I think it was the turning point," he said.

Woolmer was all praise for captain Inzamam-ul-Haq.

"Inzamam was perseverance personified," he said.

"What Inzamam and I told the team was that it was a fifth-day pitch and things can happen on a fifth-day pitch. We knew England batsmen would make mistakes and they did."

Woolmer, who played 19 Tests for England in 1970s, said he did not believe the success against his former team was any different from other wins.

"I played for England and that was different. I am not satisfied beating England alone. I am satisfied with Pakistan beating any side they play," he said.

Meanwhile, Shabbir Ahmed and Shoaib Malik have been reported for suspect bowling action after the opening Test against England here, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said.

The bowlers were reported by on-field umpires Billy Bowden and Simon Taufel, and TV umpire Asad Rauf, the ICC said in a statement on Thursday.

The Pakistani bowlers would be permitted to play international cricket pending the outcome of an independent analysis of their bowling action, ICC match-referee Roshan Mahanama said.

"Both players will be allowed to play international cricket, including the next Test against England, should they be selected," he said.

"At any time during this period they are subject to being called on the field in accordance with the laws of cricket."

Pakistan beat England by 22 runs in the first Test here to gain a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The second Test starts at Faisalabad from November 20.

The match officials had concerns with the bowlers’ actions during certain stages of the first Test when viewing with the naked eye, the ICC statement said.

This was the second time Ahmed had been reported for his action this year. If he is found to be bowling with an illegal action he will be suspended from bowling in international cricket for 12 months, it added.

Paceman Ahmed, reported during the tour of the West Indies in May, was playing his first Test after being cleared by the ICC last month. He has so far bagged 51 wickets, including five here, in 10 Tests.

The 29-year-old was also reported in 1998, after which former West Indian paceman Michael Holding remodelled his action.

Off-spinner Malik was last reported in October 2004.

The umpires here said they had been satisfied with Ahmed’s action when watching him bowl in the nets and during the early stages of the match, according to an ICC statement.

They reported the player after noting a deterioration in his action from the third day of the match, in particular when bowling the ‘effort’ ball and short-pitched deliveries, which they suspected may be illegal.

The report will be handled under the ICC’s revised bowling review process introduced in March 2005.

Both the bowlers will now undergo independent analysis of their actions by a member of the ICC’s panel of human movement specialists, the ICC said.

The analysis involves a detailed comparison between the action of the bowler in the laboratory and the action he used in the match in which he was reported.

This will take place as soon as practically possible, and within a maximum period of 21 days from receipt by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) of formal notice of the reports by the ICC.

The PCB said they were in touch with the ICC and would deal the issue as per the rules.

"There is a process of dealing with suspect bowling action and to say that Shabbir will face a one-year ban is too early," PCB official Salim Altaf said.●