The language barrier...

I feel sorry for Bob Woolmer, caught between the devil and the deep blue sea! Managing Pakistan is no mean task, and now that the garbage has hit the ceiling he finds himself in a spot of bother. Strangely I would not be surprised if he quits sooner than expected. It was amusing to read this:

"Inzi and I are absolutely fine. We have had misunderstandings in the past and we had a sort of misunderstanding on Sunday. Until I have a complete grasp of the Urdu language these things may occur but as things stand now, we are fine. We are getting on well and want to do whatever we can for Pakistan cricket."

It reeks of a kiss-and-make-up underlined by a dollop of disgust. It also underlines the language barriers (among other hurdles) guys like John Wright and Woolmer have to deal with day in and day out. I suspect the Indians (despite the bile they sometimes spat back at Wright) had a healthy respect for Wright, which was undoubtedly well-earned. On the other hand, I cannot but believe that the Pakistani cricket team has absolutely no respect for its coaches - be it Intikhab Alam, Richard Pybus or Woolmer.

Inzi being Inzi would not have had something overly parliamentary to say to/about Woolmer during the fiasco that played out on Sunday - I doubt he would have started out in his usual style of praising the lord and invoking his goodwill! In the whole controversy what seems clear is the fact that Woolmer probably wanted to go ahead with the game, while Inzi and gang wanted (rather belatedly) to massage their bruised egos in the dressing room. And good old Shahryar Khan had to spin an unbelievable yarn (attributing the condition of the ball to Kevin Pietersen smashing it so many times into the stands, which all happened after the Paki team was pulled up by Mr. Hair).

And then there are jackasses (including Mr. Shahryar Khan) looking for religious overtones in this whole fiasco!