Pakistan looking at John Wright as next coach

Pakistan's cricket authorities have turned to New Zealander John Wright as a possible replacement for coach Bob Woolmer, who died during the World Cup.

Sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) told Reuters that some discussions had been held with Wright, 52, to find out if he would be interested in coaching the national side.

"Wright's response was good. The board is also looking at another foreigner, Tim Boon, coach of Leicestershire, as a possible candidate," one source said on Thursday.

The PCB on Thursday named all-rounder Shoaib Malik as captain until the end of the year and former test player, Talat Ali, as manager for two years but did not announce a replacement for Woolmer.

Woolmer, the former England player, was coach from 2004 until March 18 this year when he was pronounced dead in hospital in Jamaica a day after Pakistan lost to debutants Ireland and were eliminated from the World Cup in the first round.

His death is being treated by Jamaican police as murder.

Pakistan also had a foreign coach, Briton Richard Pybus, in the 2003 World Cup when they did not progress beyond the first round.

"The reason the board has delayed naming a new coach is because it is still looking at several candidates some of them foreigners," the source said.

STRONG CANDIDATE
He said Wright, who was coach of the Indian team from 2000 to 2005, was a strong candidate followed by Boon who was video analyst with the England team during their 2005 Ashes win over Australia.

Boon has also been England's under-19 coach and of South African provincial side, Natal.
"The name of Boon has been recommended by someone in the England and Wales Cricket Board," the source said.

Former Pakistan test pacer, Aaqib Javed,

PCB appoints selection committee

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a new, three-man professional selection committee to be headed by Salahuddin Mulla Ahmed, a veteran selector. The other members of the committee are Shafqat Rana, also a previous member, and former Test left-arm fast bowler Saleem Jaffar.
Ahmed has been on the selection committee no less than 13 times before this latest tenure, on various occasions between 1979 and 1999 and has also headed the committee before. Rana has been on three previous committees in 1983-84, 1984-85 and 1994-95.
Jaffar, who is currently coach of the Sind team in the Pentangular Cup 2007, told Cricinfo that having seen the players from Sind region, he has a fair idea of how much talent lies in the province.
"It is a huge responsibility and requires an awful lot of sincerity and devotion. I've seen whole domestic season this year and have been involved with the players directly. And with that experience, I will try and bring out the talent I have witnessed over the past few months," he said.
Additionally, a new selection policy has also been finalised by the board. For any home series, the selection committee will choose the final playing XI after consultation with the captain. For away tours, the committee will select the squad after consultation with the captain, while the final playing XI will be decided by a tour selection committee which includes the manager, coach, captain and vice-captain.
The decision to enhance the influence of selectors in practice is thought to be the result of the experiences of the last selection committee, headed by Wasim Bari, which resigned after the World Cup. Bari and his team were widely perceived to have little or no influence with captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and as their relationship worsened, the captain's hold over selectorial matters was said to be total.
The board experimented with the idea of sending a selector on tour with the team to have a greater say in team matters but that idea appears to have been dropped under the new policy.
The committee will be responsible for selecting the national team as well as the 'A' teams. A separate panel to look after junior teams is expected to be announced within the next few days as well.
A new captain for both Test and ODI sides is also set to be announced this week, while Pakistan are also looking at hiring a new coach.

England and Pakistan boards settle Oval claims

The England and Pakistan cricket boards have finally settled the ECB's compensation claims relating to the forfeited Oval Test in August 2006. The agreement means that Pakistan will play a Twenty20 match in England in 2012 and waive the fee.
Both boards also agreed that the proposed tour of Pakistan by England in 2010 would be postponed until January 2012 and would contain three Tests and five one-day matches. Pakistan will then stage a return tour in July-August of the same year. The forfeiture occurred when the Pakistan team, penalised for ball-tampering by umpire Darrell Hair, refused to take the field for the post-tea session on the fourth day. England were awarded the match with a day to spare. The ECB had asked the PCB to pay damages worth $1.3 million for the lost fifth day, a request the Pakistan Board Rejected.
David Collier, the ECB chief executive, said that the decision to push back the dates had been taken since otherwise England's overloaded schedule that season would not allow for three Tests and five ODIs against Pakistan. "The meetings with PCB demonstrated the goodwill and desire of both boards to find a cricketing solution to the issues arising from the Oval Test match," Collier said. "Rescheduling the tour results in a significantly lighter schedule for our players in 2010." He added that the Twenty20 match would greatly benefit the ECB which will withdraw its compensation claims once the PCB confirmed the arrangements.

Bob Woolmer may have ‘overstayed’ as Pakistan coach

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Officially you might hear something different, but whispers coming out of the Pakistani camp here strongly indicate that the national cricket bosses are already searching for the successor of coach Bob Woolmer, writes Khalid Hussain.Sources in the Pakistan squad have confirmed to ‘The News’ here that some of the team players and officials have developed serious differences with Woolmer and are urging the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to bring in a new coach after the World Cup. Woolmer’s contract with the Pakistan team is supposed to run till June this year and the PCB chief Dr Nasim Ashraf recently said that the Board was considering the option to carry on with him even after the World Cup. However, things are far from smooth in the Pakistani camp and some of the team members and officials believe Woolmer has been playing a bit of a role in it. Sources said that there is a feeling in a segment of the Pakistani camp that Woolmer might be leaking information of discord within the team and its officials to the media. They are also unhappy with the fact that the Englishman has opted to write regular columns for a web portal during the all-important World Cup during which he should have been concentrating on his team’s performance in the event. Sources said that Woolmer’s strained relations with a top PCB official are also not helping his cause. There were indications that Woolmer could have been told by the Board that his contract would end after the World Cup before the Pakistani squad left for the Caribbean as the coach is said to have sent his belongings back to South Africa where he is based. Reports coming from Lahore, where Woolmer stays during his visits to Pakistan, suggested that the PCB has already given his room at the National Cricket Academy to a CARICOM official who was in Lahore in connection with special World Cup visas.However, Woolmer said he hasn’t been informed about any such development. “I don’t know if somebody has been put in my room, I’ve no such information,” said Woolmer. “If somebody is staying there then it is without my permission,” he added. Woolmer, 58, also denied that he sent all his stuff back to his home in South Africa from Lahore before coming here. “I did send some stuff that I did not need but all the important stuff is with me right here.”The former England batsman who is regarded as one of the most accomplished coaches in the cricket world is believed to be in the run to replace England coach Duncan Fletcher after the World Cup.

I did not select Nazir in World Cup squad, says Woolmer

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer on Friday distanced himself from faltering opener Imran Nazir saying that he did not select the player in the 15-man World Cup squad.“Imran Nazir was picked by the chairman of selectors and you should ask him why he is here,” Woolmer told Pakistani reporters when asked to comment on Imran Nazir failure to find form in recent matches.It is commonly believed that the Pakistan team these days is decided by the team captain and coach with the approval of the national selection committee that is headed by former Test cricketer Wasim Bari.When Imran Nazir was preferred in the squad over the more solid Yasir Hameed and the more experienced Imran Farhat, a few eye brows were raised.Now that the flamboyant batsman has been unable to find any form in the lead up to the World Cup and the opening game against the West Indies, questions are being asked as to why Imran Nazir is a part of the Pakistan team in such an important event.Woolmer is apparently unhappy with the way Imran has been playing but makes it clear that he doesn’t have many options.“You can send back players and bring in new ones. The tournament rules do not allow it,” he said.Woolmer said that Imran will have to rise to the occasion as Pakistan cannot afford to give his wicket cheaply all the time.