Time for more Cha Cha isms from the Cha Cha kirr kut himself.

First up, as exciting an era as ever beckons Pakistan cricket with the announcement of Bob Woolmer as the new coach. For the younger generation of cricketers to experience what good coaching is all about....Woolmer will hopefully be able to evolve a new work ethic that the younger lot will enjoy and benefit from and hopefully the younger lot will refuse to go back to the archaic ways of the past. Meanwhile it is expected that some of the senior and pampered cricketers may not find a new envigorating regimen to their liking and it is more than likely that plots and schemes will be hatched and campaigns of silent non-cooperation will ensue. Hopefully the old guard will wither away in time to come and the newer lot wont stand for any of it.

Meanwhile much to the credit of the PCB, the loudest protesting blast to be heard thus far in response to the Woolmer signing has been that of that universally recognized genius Sarfaraz Nawaz who has bellowed in his typical manner that our "boys" will not be able to understand the language of the English Bob Woolmer and the language barrier will be insurmountable. Perhaps Sarfaraz Nawaz doesnt realize that teaching a batsman how to grip a cricket bat properly or to hold the seam in a certain way or to pitch a ball on a particular spot, however intricate a science isn't quite on the same level as explaining the philosophies of Plato, Socrates and Aristotle.

It might be inconceivable that a German speaking man discuss politics or history with a punjabi speaking audience, yet if a German hockey player discusses hockey with punjabi speaking hockey players, despite the language barriers, he is going to be able to get most of his points accross even though the languages might be totally incompatable. Musicians likewise can talk music even if they dont speak one anothers language. Cricketers, soccer players, tennis players and most athletes can easily "discuss" their sport with people from similar backgrounds because of the "shared" language. This rather simple point can't possibly occur to someone of the mighty intellectual capacity of Sarfaraz Nawaz, but as I mentioned earlier, when Sarfraz lashes out in protest against your policies it means you MUST be doing something right. When people like Sarfaraz Nawaz are your supporters, you ought to see the warning lights.

In today's press, self avowed expert on cricket (not unlike myself!) has berated the current PCB chairman for not knowing a thing about the game and thus being led like a blindfolded idiot down dangerous alleys by his cunning advisors! Anyone who knows Shaharyar Khan at all well will be well aware of his prowess as a sportsman during his youth - it was his choice to aspire to become a distinguished diplomat for his nation, something he achieved with distinction. That the man could have played Test cricket for Pakistan is immaterial though those who know him well would argue his case with vigour, yet it is not the ability to play at the Test level alone that bestows a man with knowledge about the game.

What is cricketing knowledge? Is it someone like Sarfaraz Nawaz who has played tens of test matches all over the world but who doesn't know who Douglas Jardine was? So what constitutes cricketing "knowledge"? Is it that one has to have played 50 test matches to be knowledgable enough, or does it have to be 100 Tests? Or how about somebody like the school yard nerd turned commentator turned cricket expert Harsha Bhogle who must have at least dreamed of playing 100 Test matches? He writes long columns as a cricket expert for leading newspapers and is taken as a leading "expert" on the game. So what then is cricketing "knowledge" Mr Salahuddin (himself a veteren of 5 Tests)? Clearly you would know better.

What about Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, the head of the Indian Cricket Board - he never played Test cricket either. According to Salahuddin, does that mean he too has no understanding or knowledge of the game? Likewise Malcolm Speed the head of the ICC. He too never won a Test cap, never came close...does that mean he too has inferior knowledge than people like Sarfaraz Nawaz and Curtly Ambrose who have played nearly 150 Tests between them? Obviously Mr Salahuddin feels the need to grind an axe and continues to do it with such subtlety that it destroys what little credibility he may once have enjoyed. It is the same mentality that reckons that since Javed Miandad was Pakistan's best batsman of his era he must naturally be the best coach as well. The same thinking that reckons that since Hanif Mohammad was the best batsman of his era, he automatically makes for the best choice as coach despite the fact that he might not have any qualifications or credentials as a coach. This is the same mentality that reckons that Fazal Mahmood (a man who never played a One Day International nor ever reverse swung the ball) would be the perfect choice as a coach as he was once the best bowler in the land. All these cricketers were indeed worldbeaters in their day but it certainly doesnt mean that they would make world beating coaches...it just doesn't work like that - but some people just dont get it.

I am reminded of that classic scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indy Jones is confonted by the sword waving Arab who confounds Indy with his dazzling sword skills........but then, all it takes is one bullet from a pistol to blow the gallant (stupid) Arab and his artistry away. Point being, that however dazzling one's skills may have been in a certain era..........one has to change and adapt to an evolving world...and pride and stubborness are just huge obstacles.

Bob Woolmer's appointment is the start of one of the most exciting era's in Pakistan's cricketing evolution and all power to him to set things right. Lets hope that the board, the public and most of all the players react with similar wholehearted support and let us not expect overnight results - it will take time, but finally Pakistan cricket has taken a giant step in the right direction.

Now thoughts drift to Wimbledon Tennis....our predictions for Paris weren't too wildly off. Agassi flopped and one of the Russian girls lifted the title, not exactly what we has said, but not far off. So rather puffed up by the success of not making a total idiot of myself here goes with ones predictions about Wimbledon. In the men's draw, once again the overriding favourite must be the sublimely gifted Roger Federer who will be far happier playing on grass than he was on the slow clay of Paris. Federer is clearly a class or two above the likes of Andy Roddick and Leyton Hewitt but if he is less than his best, these two opponents can certainly be combative enough to take advantage. Roddick and Hewitt must be consdired serious title threats though the burning intensity seems to have ebbed from Hewitt's game of late and he seems to make errors where it was unthinkable that he would have done in previous seasons. With a game like his, being a counter puncher, he really cannot afford to gift away free points with unforced errors of his own racket.

Tim Henman was playing the best tennis of his career in Paris and despite his early Queens loss, surely he has a better than ever chance of making it to the semi's again and perhaps even a step further. It ought to be kept in mind that he is one of the few players who managed to take a victory off Federer earlier in the year. Other dangerous players are the crazy Russian Marat Safin who is so hugely talented but so erratic and so emotional that he really cant seem to put together a serious challenge, though he did put together some fantastic performances at the Aussie Open earlier in the year. He will always remain a threat due to his sheer talent alone. The clay courters of Paris wont find things to their liking and though it is brave of players like Carlos Moya to show up at all, dont expect the Latin-Spanish wave to cause any serious threats on the grass of SW 19. Guillermo Coria might make it to round three or even further but we really dont see the others making it too far. The one exception is David Nalbandian who has a good track record at Wimbledon and who appears to have a game that is just as effective on any surface be it Hard court or grass or carpet or clay. Though he has put on a bit of weight around the belly of late - quite amazing that a top flight tennis player can afford to be not physically in 100% shape and yet be a consistent threat in the top 10 players of the world. Nalbandian is hugely talented and we've said this before, surely it is a matter of time before he can crack a Grand Slam title. He has more flair than Roddick and Hewitt but isn't perhaps as dogged or resiliant. Sadly David Nalbandian has just announced that he has pulled out of this years Wimbledon due to a abdominal muscle tear, and there we were thinking it was fat! Anyway, the tournament will be a touch paler without his presence.

I had expected players like Martin Verkerk to do well at Wimbledon but it seems that he needs too much time to prepare for his big groundstrokes and also he isnt the most agile player in the world and these prove telling factors in his inability to be a serious threat on grass, pity. Agassi has wisely pulled out but bizarrely said that he is looking forward to returning next year! Why is this very intelligent man having such difficulty reading the writing etched so clearly on the wall reading TIME TO CALL IT A DAY. It is a sad sight to see him being whipped by people ranked closer to 1000 than 1, but sadly that is what it has come to of late.

In the womens draw things are fairly open because the Williams sisters have lost their aura of invincibility and the Belgian girls are absent. Though we agree with the seeding committee that Serena Williams should be the top seed, she is a very dodgy top seed who is very beatable on current brittle form. Once again the Russian girls can cause serious upsets along the way though one of the girls who was shaping up best of the lot in Nadia Petrova seems to have gone off the boil just a bit of late. However the likes of Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva (despite that horrendous serve)and of course the newly crowned French Open champion Anastasia Myskina will be very dangerous opponents. Somehow, I can't see Myskina taking the Wimbledon crown ahead of the Williams girls this year. I also don't agree with Martina Navratilova that Amelie Mauresmo can go all the way this year........she certainly has the game but her nerves have proven as fragile as her body and her belly-flop in Paris will still be haunting her. Jennifer Capriati turned in a bizarre show in Paris recently. She was superb against Serena Williams but then was horrendous against Myskina. She has a tendency of blowing so hot and so cold that it is increasingly difficult to see her putting together a string of matches together to lift the title.

So the Cha Cha reckons its going to be Roger Federer who takes the title but the contenders are Roddick, and to a lesser extent Hewitt and Henman. Among the women, Serena Williams should manage to defend her title, if not watch out for a player like Svetlana Kuznetsova. We havent forgotten Linsey Davenport who is always a contender, but only if her dodgy knee holds up which looks like an increasingly unlikely prospect. Expect half the seeds, especially the clay courters to go out in the first couple of days. It should hardly be a surprise that the likes of Coria, Moya, Costa, Chela, go tumbling out within the first couple of rounds and the likes of Mardy Fish, Taylor Dent can prove more of a threat.

so in the Men's Final, it will be Federer defeating Roddick in 4 sets. In the women's draw it's a bit of a shot in the dark really but how about Serena Williams defeating Kuznetsova, Myskina or Mauresmo in the final in straight sets.

Meanwhile.....which team looks the most impressive at the Euro 2004 Football so far? We reckon the Czech team is a joy to watch, the French look great on the ball but can't seem to convert very easily and the English and the Spanish look fairly sharp without surely looking like tournament winners....the Swedes would be in the same boat and Germany look dull but you never know with them! All will be revealed on the 4th of July........

the Cha Cha has spoken