Whatmore heads to Pakistan for interview

Dav Whatmore arrives in Pakistan on Wednesday hoping to push further his credentials as the next coach of Pakistan. Whatmore will be interviewed by the PCB on Thursday as a potential candidate for the position, the third Australian the board has interviewed this week.

Earlier in the week, Richard Done, the ICC high-performance manager and former New South Wales fast bowler, and Geoff Lawson, former Test cricketer, were also interviewed. Lawson yesterday visited the national team's conditioning camp currently underway in Abbottabad, meeting with senior players and officials.

One of the three will become Pakistan's coach though Zakir Khan, director operations PCB and a member of the three-man committee to find a coach, stressed again the decision will not be taken in haste.

Khan didn't confirm that an appointment will be made by July 1, the date set by chairman Nasim Ashraf, to announce a new coach to succeed the late Bob Woolmer.

"It is premature to give an exact date right now. After the interviews of the three, our committee will compile a report and present our choice to the chairman, who will take it to the ad-hoc committee. Only then will a decision be made,"

Khan told Cricinfo.

The board has been tight-lipped about its preferences from the three in recent days. Khan said that the interviews had gone well and that all three had excellent qualifications.

"They were shortlisted because of their qualifications and on the basis of past achievements."

Until recently, Whatmore was understood to be the board's top choice, the only hitch being his interest in the position of India coach. With that now out of the way, the path appears clear for Whatmore to take over. But the board is said to be impressed by Done as well, and he would seemingly fit in with some officials' wishes that the new coach be a low-key personality willing to prove himself internationally with Pakistan.

Meanwhile Javed Miandad, former captain and three-time coach, continued his criticism of the board's policy for selecting a coach by pointing out that Lawson had not officially applied for the position.

Miandad disagreed with the board's decision to publicly advertise the vacancy and invite applications arguing that no coach of substance would apply in such a way. Lawson made clear before arriving in Pakistan that the board had contacted him and not the other way round.

Miandad told Dawn,

"Now I ask the PCB: where does it stand? Instead of considering the applications of those candidates who have applied for the post, it is contacting those who did not apply."

‘Dave Whatmore interested in coaching Pakistan’

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Nasim Ashraf said on Wednesday that Bangladesh’s outgoing coach Dav Whatmore has shown an interest in coaching Pakistan.Ashraf said that Whatmore has talked to Pakistani officials recently and sounds interested in signing as the national team coach later this summer.

The PCB chief said that Pakistan would make it sure that the best coach is selected to train the national team which flopped miserably in the World Cup.Whatmore, 53, is regarded as one of the top coaches in international cricket after a successful stint with former world champions Sri Lanka as well as the current one with Bangladesh.

Pakistan have been looking for a new coach in recent weeks after losing Bob Woolmer in March. Woolmer, 58, was found seemingly lifeless in his hotel room in Kingston (Jamaica) on March 18 and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital there. Jamaican authorities later announced that the Pakistani coach was murdered.The PCB officials last month posted an advertisement in national and international web portals which said that they were looking for a qualified coach with solid credentials to succeed Woolmer.The Colombo-born Whatmore fits the description as the former Australian Test batsman has achieved splendid results as a top coach.

He masterminded Sri Lanka’s memorable World Cup triumph in 1996. Whatmore later had a brief spell at Lancashire where he saw them win a one-day double in 1998, and the National League in 1999.He returned as Sri Lanka’s coach for a second stint. In 2003, he took over as Bangladesh’s coach, and was able to bring a marked improvement in their performance in Tests and one-dayers. Bangladesh did better than both Pakistan and India in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean. He decided to quit after the World Cup and showed interest in coaching India.

Like Whatmore, John Wright, a former New Zealand Test cricketer who once coached India, is also said to be interested in taking over as Pakistan coach. The home-grown Aaqib Javed is also included in the list of strong candidates for the job.

The Board has set May 15 as the deadline for CVs after which a three-man committee would make its recommendation following interviews with short-listed candidates. The PCB is expected to decide on a coach next month and plans to award him a contract starting from July 1.