Woolmer: 'Indians can't hook'

Let the mind-games begin. As India and Pakistan prepare to do battle in their decisive Pool C encounter at Edgbaston, Bob Woolmer, Pakistan's coach, has reopened a few old wounds by suggesting that India's batsmen are susceptible to the short ball.

Brett Lee made Indian lives a misery with his hostile line of attack during the 2003 World Cup, and Woolmer believes that in Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami, he has the right weapons with which to repeat the dose and propel his side into the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy.

"Indian batsmen struggle against short-pitched bowling. They just can't hook," Woolmer declared to rediff.com. "There is no batsman in the world who is comfortable against fast, short-pitched bowling, particularly when it is directed at the head. It's just not this generation of batsmen. You take any generation down the years, and they all had the same problem."

There is one Indian batsman, in Woolmer's opinion, who is up to the task. But, unfortunately for India, Sachin Tendulkar is not present at this tournament. He was forced to withdraw ahead of the NatWest Challenge with a bout of tennis elbow, and remains doubtful for the first Test against Australia at Bangalore next month.

In Tendulkar's absence, a lot could yet rest on the man cast from the master's mould, Virender Sehwag. His form of late has been woeful, but the big-match atmosphere - and his previous successes against Pakistan - could be just what he needs to get back to his attacking best.

"Viru really just needs one good innings," said John Wright, India's coach. "Sometimes, when you haven't been getting runs, I think you just need to spend time in the middle. Sehwag is a great player. At the moment he needs to back himself, play straight and [the runs] will eventually come."

There have been suggestions that Sehwag, who has mustered just 44 runs in six innings since the final of the Asia Cup, needs to tone down his aggressive instincts and play a holding role for a change, but Wright fervently disagrees. "I basically believe that Sehwag needs to play his natural game," he insisted. "He is a fearless batsman and you can't ask him to curb his instincts."

Wright spoke of the need for one of his top three of Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman to come good, and pointed to Ganguly's form as the biggest positive to have come out of the tournament so far. But Woolmer has other ideas. "I see cricket slightly differently," he said. "I see cricket as a team game. The top three in any team are important and their performance is vital, but I believe every player has a role to perform; to win, every player has to do the task assigned to him."

But, as has so often been the case this week, the weather could play a major part in the proceedings. It has been damp and overcast for the past two days, and Woolmer warned that the match could hinge on two or three critical moments. "At the end of the day, the team that grabs the opportunities is the one that will win. We need to forget the past; those matches were played on different surfaces."