Woolmer blasts umpiring decisions

Woolmer was annoyed over some close calls during the series

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has queried some of the umpiring decisions during the VB Series in Australia.

"It went 29-5 against us. Some of these decisions made a huge difference," said the former Kent and England pro.

But Australia coach John Buchanan has dismissed Woolmer's criticism as being unfair to umpires, saying: "He needs to be careful in what he says.

"Umpires make a huge number of decisions in every game and we can't expect all of them to be right."

Pakistan were whitewashed 3-0 in the Test series against Australia before losing 2-0 in the VB Series finals against the world champions.

Woolmer said Australia were very good at appealing and the adjudicators were pressurised by the players and the crowd.

"Umpires are not cheats, I would never accuse them of that," he added.

"The way the Australians appeal and the way the crowd supports them creates subconscious pressure on the umpires and it shows.

"People can say an umpire gives a decision on what he sees rather than the appeals, but I disagree. The appeal is very much a part of it. It is a very fine line."

We can capitalise on the lessons to do well in India Bob Woolmer

Meanwhile former coach Javed Miandad has blamed his successor Woolmer's strategy for Pakistan's failure on their tour of Australia.

"To me the major reason for the poor performances has been the constant shuffling in the team," said Miandad.

"Never in my career have I seen so much shuffling in one team. When no player is sure of his place and position in the team, how can he perform?"

But Woolmer is upbeat about Pakistan's future.

He said: "For me it was an interesting tour which gave us a chance to pick the men out from the boys.

"We have got very strong team spirit and can make rapid progress from here because we have identified some strong players.

"Overall it was a tough tour and we can capitalise on the lessons to do well in India."