September 26 Thursday 2002
World Cup shouldn't be Pakistan's only goal: Pybus

COLOMBO: Pakistan cricket coach Richard Pybus is seen by some as a calming influence and others as a 'messiah'.

The appointment of Pybus for the third time confirms the high opinion held of him by senior PCB officials. Cricket in Pakistan is a passion, but it is regularly marred by controversies, internal rifts between players and frequent changes of personnel. "The advantage with Pybus is that he is a foreigner and every player accepts him as coach. He has no axe to grind and cannot indulge in local politics," said a PCB official.

Pybus was first hired as assistant coach for the 1999 World Cup and promoted as head coach for the tour to Australia that winter, although a 3-0 rout led to him being sacked. He was re-hired for Pakistan's tour to England last year, and helped them pull off a famous last session win at Old Trafford to square the Test series.

His tenure was cut short, however, after he declined to travel to the Asian region following events of September 11. That prompted some commentators to question his commitment. But Pybus has no regrets about his actions. "There may be some people who ask why I return to Pakistan after a bad experience. One of the prime reasons is that I love the attitude of the Pakistan players and their fighting abilities," Pybus said.

It is asking a lot of him to achieve victory against Australia, specially with the Test matches being played at neutral venues. "It's a great challenge facing Australia with some senior players missing, but my way of coaching is simple, plan and implement. Cricket is a simple game where you need to bring the best out of a player and remove basic flaws if there are any, and I follow this in my coaching," said Pybus. "Pakistan mustn't make any knee jerk decisions so close to the World Cup. 

Any issues must be worked through and resolved, keeping in mind that the central goal isn't just to win the World Cup, but to be the best side in the world.

"The most important thing for Pakistan is to identify key areas that are impacting on performance and address them as soon as possible, whether they be management issues, injuries or selection," he stated.