KARACHI, Dec 27: Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer on Wednesday said the forthcoming tour of South Africa could be a rough ride for Inzamam-ul-Haq’s team but will serve as ideal preparation for next year’s World Cup in the Caribbeans.

Speaking to Dawn from his home in Cape Town, the ex-England Test batsman said he was keeping fingers crossed as far as Pakistan’s chances of win against his former charges were concerned.

“The tour will be a tough one but our bowling — assuming all our bowlers are fit and selected — will be a force. Our batting, however, will have to cope with the pitches in South Africa and that will be a major task,” he said. “But I believe we have the ability to do well. Let’s wait and see what happens. Touch wood, all will depend how quickly the lads get used to the conditions.”

Woolmer, however, was forthright in saying the South Africans are fallible as the Indians proved in the first Test of their current series.

“That result in Johannesburg is a good example since it shows that South Africa can be bowled out and secondly, they can be beaten at home. I believe that the Wanderers pitch was a contributory factor, which backfired on the tactics that the Proteas wanted to employ.”

“In fact it allowed India to expose technical frailties in the South African line-up. However, knowing the South Africans as I do, I think they will come back strongly in the remaining Tests against India,” the 58-year-old Kanpur-born Englishman remarked.

Woolmer pointed out that South Africa’s Test performances recently had been poor by their standards. “They are a team that fights hard and has some fine players. Part of their current problem could be behind the scene wrangles but there recent Test match performances have been poor by their standards. In the one-day game, though, they are still a force to reckon with,” he noted.

When asked to identify the South African players who could be a potential threat to Pakistan team, Woolmer said the entire side could be a handful if they fired on all cylinders.

“Mind you, the team is the key and I always believe that. We have to play against the whole South African team and not the individuals. Naturally, players like (Jacques) Kallis and (Shaun) Pollock and (Mark) Boucher are key members as are (Makhaya) Ntini and (Herschelle) Gibbs. There are no easy games at this level,” he warned.

Woolmer also warned his side not to put undue pressure on Mohammad Yousuf, who had a tremendous 2006 during which he eclipsed legendary West Indian Viv Richards’s world record of most runs in a calendar year.

“We should not have extraordinary expectations from Yousuf. We did not expect anything prior to his great run and even now, we should allow him to play to the best of his ability with no pressure.

“He is a fine player and we all hope that he will continue his run of form through South Africa and into the World Cup,” the coach hoped.

Woolmer sounded optimistic about the bowling resources even if both Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, despite being exonerated by an appeals tribunal, are not allowed to tour South Africa in wake of sanctions imposed by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

“I have no information as regards WADA’s action. I have been led to understand that the legalities of the first tribunal were incorrect as regards the testing and sentencing. If WADA are questioning this breach of law then I am in no position to answer the question.

“But even then, we have a good back up attack with Shabbir Ahmed available again and Umar Gul, Shahid Nazir and Mohammad Sami doing well,” he said.

Woolmer, whose tenure as Pakistan coach ends with the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, also praised the re-emergence of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan as a match-winner. “Naved’s form was exceptional and it was so nice to see this really great guy doing so well against the West Indies in the ODIs. It will be great to have him available for the Test matches and I hope he can carry that form into the Tests.”

When asked if the South African tour would help a lot in preparing the squad for the World Cup, Woolmer said it could be the ideal preparation for the mega event.

“The fact that we are playing a tough team is important. It means we will have to prepare the best way we can. It is exactly what we need,” he stressed. “The one-day game is about scoring more than the challenge from the opposition. I was very heartened by our performances against the West Indies who are a good one-day team. The World Cup is still far away and the South African tour will boost our preparations.”

Reacting to the impeding retirements of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, Woolmer said the exit of the two legends is sad and Australia will miss them.

“It is always sad when a great player retires and I guess there will be more such announcements after the World Cup from other teams. Warne is without doubt the greatest ever leg-spin bowler and his artistry will be missed by everyone, but more so by the Australian team.

“McGrath, on the other hand, is a fine bowler and has shown why line and length, change of pace and height are so important for a bowler in this game,” he said.

He added that someone like Inzamam, who will turn 37 on March 3, should be left alone to decide his own future. “As far as I know it is entirely up to the players concerned.”