Intikhab Alam appointed Pakistan’s new cricket coach

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) named former captain and manager Intikhab Alam as the new national cricket coach on Saturday, a day after Australian Geoff Lawson was sacked.

Intikhab Alam will take the helm for Pakistan's upcoming series of three one-day
internationals against the West Indies in November at the neutral venue of Abu Dhabi.

"We have appointed Intikhab as the coach as we found him to be the suitable candidate,"

PCB chairman Ijaz Butt said.

"He will accompany the team to Abu Dhabi for the one-day internationals against the West Indies."

The PCB sacked former Australian Test fast bowler Lawson on Friday after a string of poor results. He had spent just 15 months in the job, regarded as one of the toughest in world cricket.

The 66-year-old Intikhab Alam has also been Pakistan coach and manager on several occasions, most notably during Pakistan's World Cup title win in 1992. Former captain and master batsman Javed Miandad was also a candidate for the post.

Butt said the length of Intikhab's contract was expected to be decided next week.

"We would like to appoint Alam for a two-year contract, but we have to get final approval from the members of the governing board,"

said Butt, who took over as chairman earlier this month.

Intikhab said he would try to do his best for Pakistan.

"It's a big responsibility,"

he said.

"It is not an easy job and I have taken up this assignment as a big challenge,"

said Alam, who will abandon his contract with Punjab in India, where he was to take over this month.

Intikhab Alam said discipline would be his top priority for the controversy-hit Pakistan side.

"I will try to maintain discipline because no player is bigger than the game and discipline has been our problem, so that will be my top priority,"

said Intikhab, who played 47 Tests between 1959-75 and also led Pakistan in 17 Tests.

As a quality leg-spinner he took 125 wickets, his first coming on his first delivery in Test cricket against Australia in 1959.

List of Pakistan coaches in last decade

Former captain Intikhab Alam returned for a second stint as Pakistan cricket coach on Saturday, a day after the sacking of Australian Geoff Lawson.

Here is a timeline of the country's cricket coaches in the last ten years:

Sept 1998: Legendary former captain Javed Miandad takes over from Haroon Rasheed, a former middle-order batsman.

April 1999: Miandad resigns after falling out with senior players and is replaced by former captain Mushtaq Mohammad for the 1999 World Cup.

Aug 1999: Mushtaq sacked after the World Cup. Wasim Raja, a former allrounder, steps in.

Nov 1999: English-born Richard Pybus becomes Pakistan's first foreign coach.

Dec 1999: Intikhab Alam takes over after Pybus is axed following Pakistan's 3-0 rout
in a Test series in Australia.

Mar 2000: Miandad replaces Intikhab after Pakistan lost home series to Sri Lanka.

April 2001: Miandad sacked after Pakistan's tour of New Zealand and is replaced by Pybus.

Sept 2001: Pybus refuses to come to Pakistan for security reasons after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and Mudassar Nazar takes over.

Sept 2002: Mudassar summoned home midway through ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka and Pybus returns for a third stint.

March 2003: Pybus says he does not want to stay on after Pakistan were knocked out in the first round of the World Cup held in South Africa. Miandad returns as coach.

June 2004: Miandad sacked after Pakistan lost one-day and Test series against India at home.

July 2004: Former England batsman Bob Woolmer takes over.

March 2007: Woolmer dies in his Jamaica hotel room hours after Pakistan crash out in the first round of the World Cup in the West Indies.

July 2007: Lawson appointed as coach.

October 2008: Lawson sacked over poor results. Intikhab Alam appointed for three-day series against the West Indies to be played in Abu Dhabi.

Lawson considering legal action against PCB

Former coach of Pakistan cricket team Geoff Lawson of Australia is considering to take a legal action against the Pakistan Cricket Board (PBC).

According to sources, Lawson is in contact with the Australian High Commission in Islamabad.

The former coach has refused to leave Pakistan until he is not paid all his dues from the PCB.

Sources said that trainer of the Pakistan cricket team David Dyer is also considering to resign from his position.

Wasim Akram denies being approached to coach Pakistan

Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, has quashed growing speculation that he is about to replace Geoff Lawson as the coach of Pakistan, saying that nobody from the Pakistan Cricket Board has approached him.

Local media has buzzed in recent days with unconfirmed reports that the PCB is unhappy with Lawson and is looking for a replacement. Akram has been conducting a camp for fast bowlers in Lahore at the same time and was asked, on his first day, whether he would be interested in the coaching job.

A positive response - albeit with qualifications - and subsequent reports of a fall-out between Lawson and members of the selection committee has led many to conclude that Akram is being lined up.

But Akram said he had not been sounded out yet, though if the conditions were right, he would consider the post.

"There has been no offer,"

he said.

"Nobody from the board has approached me officially or unofficially with anything. I have a few years left on my contract with ESPN (as a television commentator and analyst) so anything that comes would have to be weighed up against that. Ultimately it would depend on a number of things."

Akram also ruled out the possibility of working as a bowling coach with the team, suggesting that he would prefer becoming a full-time coach.

Akram's work as a floating, freelance bowling consultant of sorts has been successful since he retired from the game in 2003. A number of Indian bowlers have benefited from his informal sessions and last year, in his first official role, his two-week camp for Pakistani fast bowlers, was widely considered a success. Sohail Tanvir - though he had already been spotted - benefited immensely from the tutelage and Akram also pushed the case of Mohammad Aamer, who has had a successful time at the Under-19 level. He is working this time with the likes of Sohail Khan and Anwar Ali.

The development comes amid growing uncertainty over Lawson, though whether there is any substance to the unrest is not yet clear. The coach is expected to arrive in Pakistan from a month-long holiday in Australia tomorrow, and he is likely to arrive to a barrage of questions about his relationship with the selectors and his future.

The selection committee and Lawson both deny that there are problems between them, though there have been run-ins in the series against Zimbabwe earlier this year. The situation was resolved at the time, but matters have reportedly taken a turn for the worse again in the aftermath of the Bangladesh series, the central issue remaining final say in selection. A few days ago, a local Urdu newspaper published an interview reportedly given by Lawson to an unspecified Australian radio station in which he is said to have criticised the selectors and some senior players.

Coach Lawson optimistic over paceman Asif’s fitness

KANPUR, India: Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson is confident that Mohammad Asif, one of his team’s main strike bowlers, will get fit in time to play a role in the Test series against India starting in Delhi from November 22, writes Khalid Hussain.

As media reports continue to cast a doubt over Asif’s fitness with some saying that the medium pacer might be unable to play any of the three Tests because of an elbow problem, Lawson sounded much more optimistic.

“I just talked to Asif 30 minutes back and he is really training hard to get fit in time for the Test series,”

the former Australian pacer told ‘The News’ on Saturday night. Asif, 24, who aggravated a tennis elbow injury in last month’s home series against South Africa was ruled out of the first three one-dayers against India because of fitness reasons.

Pakistan on Sunday played their one-dayer against the home side here in Kanpur but there are no signs of Asif joining the team. He will be missing the next two One-day Internationals (ODIs) to be played in Gwalior (November 15) and Jaipur (November 18) and remains doubtful for the Test series getting underway from November 22 at Delhi. But Lawson, who believes Asif’s presence can really benefit Pakistan in the Test series against India, said that Asif’s progress has been good.

“He has been training for a few days now and I’m hearing that there is some improvement,”

he said.

“He hasn’t actually started playing cricket yet but I think Asif should begin it soon,”

he added.

There have been strong doubts about Asif’s role on the Indian tour from the day national selectors announced that he would be missing the first three one-dayers. Sources had disclosed to this correspondent that Asif will take almost six weeks to recover which meant that he could be out of action till the mid of December. Pakistan’s last of the three Tests against India is scheduled to end on December 12 in Bangalore.

The Sheikhupura-born Asif, who has taken 51 wickets from 11 Tests and also has 31 ODI scalps from 20 games, first sustained the elbow problem during last summer’s tour of England following a brief county stint with Leicestershire.

The injury forced him to miss the first three Tests against England and only made a comeback in that fateful fourth Test at The Oval. The elbow problem subsided after some rest and treatment but once again dogged him during the home series against South Africa, forcing him to sit out of four of the five one-dayers following a series of long spells in the two-match Test series against the Proteas.

Pakistan is dangerous rival despite losing Test series: Mickey Arthur

LAHORE: Coach of South African cricket team, Mickey Arthur said that despite losing the Test series on home ground Pakistan are the dangerous rivals and they cannot be taken easy.

Talking with media after the warm-up match at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Lahore, Mickey Arthur said that he was happy with his team’s performance in the warm-up match. Cricketers played according to plan in batting and bowling and they got full chance of preparing for One-day International series.

He said that Shaun Pollock has played his first match on the tour and he is not bothered by his performance.

He said that there would be a good contest in the One-day series.

Whatmore surprised at Ranatunga’s ‘criticism’

KARACHI: Dav Whatmore has expressed his surprise and disappointment at reports that Arjuna Ranatunga, the former Sri Lanka captain, has advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) against hiring him as their next coach.

According to a report, Ranatunga had a chance encounter with Talat Ali, the Pakistan manager, in Scotland recently. When asked for his thoughts on Whatmore as an option, given that the two had worked together extensively and led Sri Lanka to their 1996 World Cup triumph, Ranatunga reportedly offered the advice that Whatmore should be avoided.

“I don’t know what his motivations were but he is entitled to his own personal views and I have no desire to get dragged into a public argument with him,”

Whatmore said.

Whatmore was one of three Australians shortlisted by the Pakistan board for the coaching position, lying vacant since the death of Bob Woolmer in March. Geoff Lawson, the former Test fast bowler, and Richard Done, the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) High performance manager, are the others.

“The facts are that I have indicated my desire to coach Pakistan and, if appointed, I am confident of being able to do an extremely good job with a very talented group of players,”

Whatmore said.

Kumar Sangakkara, who made his debut while Whatmore was in charge, endorsed his credentials to be the Pakistan coach.

“I have absolutely no doubt that Dav is exactly the kind of coach Pakistan needs right now,”

Sangakkara said.

“He has the expertise and the experience, including a World Cup win, the pinnacle of coaching success. I count myself as very fortunate to have broken into the national side with him as coach. It helped me to hone the right attitude towards hard work and getting out of my comfort zone that has stood me in good stead ever since,”

he said.

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."