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.

Experienced coach can bring improvement in national team: Inzamam

Former captain of Pakistan cricket team Inzamam-ul-Haq said that only an experienced coach or captain can bring improvement in performance of the national team and both Geoff Lawson and Shoaib Malik are weak in their respective departments.

In an interview with an Indian TV, Inzamam-ul-Haq said that nor the coach neither the captain can be made responsible for the team’s defeat as both are inexperienced.

He said that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should have taken care of it that if it is selecting a new captain of the team then the coach should be experienced. Both Shoaib Malik and coach Lawson do not have any experience in their departments.

Inzamam further said that Lawson had no experience of coaching any big team before Pakistan cricket team while the captaincy was also a new assignment for Shoaib Malik.

He said that there is no dearth of talent in Pakistan but the PCB requires the best planning for establishing a strong team.

‘Woolmer was poisoned and strangled’

KINGSTON: The pathologist who performed a controversial autopsy on former Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer said on Wednesday that the Englishman was poisoned and then strangled.

Dr Ere Shesiah, chief consultant pathologist of the Jamaican government, told an inquest that Woolmer

“died of asphyxia due to manual strangulation associated with Cypermethrinide poisoning”.

Cypermethrin is a pesticide used frequently in countries including the United Kingdom, China, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, said Shesiah, who had never before publicly linked Woolmer’s death to poisoning.

Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room on March 18, a day after Pakistan were knocked out of the cricket World Cup following an upset loss to Ireland. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after.

Police started a murder investigation days later after it was revealed that the autopsy, which investigators said was inconclusive at first, found that he died of manual strangulation.

That investigation ended on June 12 when Jamaica’s police commissioner said the constabulary would accept the opinion of three independent pathologists that Woolmer had died of natural causes, possibly a heart attack. Shesiah, an Indian national who has made Jamaica his home for more than 15 years, said that he never told police that the autopsy was inconclusive.

“At no time did I use the word inconclusive in any of my deliberations with the police,”

Shesiah said under cross examination by Jamaica’s director of public prosecutions Kent Pantry.

“I told the police at the time that the autopsy was pending. I also never used the word suspicious, which the police used early in their investigations,”

Shesiah said.

Shesiah said that when the murder investigation was called off on June 12 he had still not received the toxicology report.

“I received a faxed copy of the toxicology report on June 21, and the report concluded that a poisonous toxin was found in Mr Woolmer’s stomach,”

Shesiah said.

“I stand by my findings that Mr Woolmer was strangled and, based upon additional information which I received, he was also poisoned,”

Shesiah said.

Shesiah’s technique has been criticised by international pathologists who have testified at the inquest but he remained defiant, saying he had applied the correct methods in carrying out the post mortem.

Shesiah, who suffered a stroke three weeks ago, will be in the witness box again as the inquest led by coroner Patrick Murphy entered its eighth day on Thursday.

Rugby trainer hired to shape up Pakistan

The PCB has hired an Australian rugby trainer as part of the support staff for Geoff Lawson. David Dwyer will join Lawson, who is due to arrive in Pakistan next week as coach, in time for next month's Twenty20 World Cup.

"We advertised the post for the trainer of the national cricket team and have finalised David Dwyer who is an accomplished name in fitness training in Australia,"

Zakir Khan, the board's director of cricket operations, told AFP.

Khan said Dwyer's experience will help boost fitness levels -- an area where Pakistan's cricketers have struggled in recent years.

"Dwyer is an experienced professional and was selected after thorough research. We have taken feedback from Lawson as well,"

said Khan of Dwyer, who will fly out to Lahore alongside Lawson to join the team next week.

Dwyer arrives on a two-year contract and will replace Murray Stevenson, the South African trainer whose contract was not renewed after Pakistan's first-round exit from the World Cup.

Pakistan begin another short training camp next week before leaving for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup starting in South Africa from September 11. On their way they will also feature in a four-nation Twenty20 tune-up event in Kenya where the hosts, Bangladesh and United Arab Amirates are the other competing teams.

Geoff Lawson confirms himself to be appointed Pakistan coach

Lahore: Former Australian test cricketer Geoff Lawson will replace Bob Woolmer as Pakistan coach, the one-time fast bowler said Monday.

Lawson said he received a call from the Pakistan Cricket Board on Sunday confirming his appointment as successor to Woolmer, whose mysterious death at the cricket World Cup in March sparked a murder investigation in the Caribbean.

The PCB was expected to make an official announcement later today.

Lawson, 49, took 180 wickets in 46 Tests for Australia between 1980-1989. He has never coached before at international level, but beat fellow Australians Dav Whatmore and Richard Done to the post.

“It's a challenge, I think it's a wonderful challenge to have because it's such a talented squad they have over there.

“They're coming off a poor World Cup and controversially being beaten by Ireland, and all the things that accompany that, but when you look at the class of player they have you've just got to be excited about being involved with them.''

Lawson's appointment follows the recent recruitment of Trevor Bayliss to succeed fellow Australian Tom Moody as coach of Sri Lanka.

Lawson says he expects to arrive at Pakistan in the next month.

Pakistan doesn’t play again until the Twenty20 World Cup at South Africa in September.

“Probably in the next month I'll be heading over to Lahore to their academy to prepare for the Twenty20 World Cup,”

he said.

“Then Pakistan have a huge series against India which is their sort of Ashes-style series.''

Lawson, a trained optometrist, has helped with the New South Wales state cricket team and has worked as a cricket commentator since retiring from playing.

Shoaib rules out differences over any coach

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Team Captain Shoaib Malik said that he had no differences with the cricket board over any coach, as the players want to play for the country regardless of any coach.

Talking to media, All Rounder Shoaib Malik said Shahid Afridi has reported at the camp; he did not come to the camp owing to the fever.

Shoaib said that fielding has been made the focal point at the camp, for the better fielding is inevitable for the Twenty20 World cup.

Senior and junior players will be included in the squad in accordance with team combination.

Pakistani cricket team captain said that Lahore severe weather would prove beneficial for the camp players, as it will help them improve their fitness.

The players are quite satisfied with the contract modus operandi and have no objection against any coach whosoever, he added.

‘PCB chief also backing Lawson’

KARACHI: Pakistan’s cricket chiefs are ‘more or less’ agreed on appointing former Australian Test pacer Geoff Lawson as the new national coach next week.

Sources told ‘The News’ that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Nasim Ashraf is now also favouring Lawson for the job which means that Dav Whatmore could be in for another snub after losing out in the race to become India’s coach last month.

It has been learnt that Pakistan manager Talat Ali met with Ashraf in Lahore on the sidelines of the national training camp on Wednesday and informed him about the reservation the team management and senior players have against the possible appointment of Whatmore as the Pakistan coach.

Talat, a former Test cricketer, also briefed the PCB chief about his meeting with former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga, who did not speak very positively about Whatmore, who masterminded Sri Lanka’s successful campaign in the 1996 captain when Ranatunga was the captain.

According to sources, Ashraf told Talat that he is aware of the fact that most of the Pakistan team players would be more comfortable with Lawson than Whatmore.

The Colombo-born Whatmore, who recently quit as Bangladesh coach, is believed to be tough taskmaster and is generally not very popular with most of his previous charges. Lawson, 49, on the other hand left a very positive impression on the national players when he visited their training camp in Abbottabad last month.

Sources say that initially Whatmore was the favourite to become Pakistan coach mainly on the basis of his solid credentials but now the top PCB officials are tilting towards Lawson, who took 180 wickets for Australia in a successful Test career.

The group lobbying for Lawson believes that since the Australian has never been a high-profile coach, he might show more hunger for success as compared to Whatmore who enjoyed a lot of success during his tenure as Sri Lanka’s coach.

Pakistan’s previous coach Bob Woolmer was also a high profile coach who had a successful stint with South Africa in the nineties.

However, the Englishman did not enjoy much success during his association with Pakistan that was tragically cut short with the coach’s death in Kingston on March 18.

His team was thrown out of the World Cup following a stunning loss against underdogs Ireland in March. The next morning Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room. His death was treated as murder but later Jamaican Police announced that he died of heart failure.

Because of the controversy involving Woolmer’s death, not many coaches including Whatmore showed interest in an advertisement placed by the PCB. The Board later short-listed three coaches — Whatmore, Lawson and Richard Done — and is to select either one of them at the PCB ad-hoc committee meeting on July 16.

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.

Lawson now favourite to become Pak coach as Whatmore loses ground

KARACHI: Dav Whatmore is slowly losing ground as fellow Australian Geoffrey Francis Lawson has now emerged as a new favourite to take over as Pakistan’s cricket coach later this month.
‘The News’ has learnt through reliable sources that as the two-horse race is nearing its climax, the tide is slowly turning in the favour of Lawson, a former Australian Test pacer as the Pakistani team management and most of the senior players are backing him to become Bob Woolmer’s successor. Pakistan are to announce their new coach next week.

Lawson, 49, was interviewed by top Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials in Bhurban last month and he also met with the Pakistani players who were at that time training in Abbottabad.
Sources say that both the PCB officials and the players were impressed by Lawson, who may not be a high-profile coach like Whatmore but ‘he did came across as a man capable of producing positive results’.

Whatmore, 53, was the last man to be interviewed by the PCB officials and he was touted as the favourite for the post because of his solid credentials.

The Colombo-born Whatmore had an insignificant international career for Australia in which he played just seven Tests and scored 293 runs at 22.53. He also played a solitary One-day International.

But he had a successful career as coach leading Sri Lanka to their only World Cup triumph in 1996. He quit as Bangladesh coach after the World Cup where his team reached the second round.

In stark contrast, Lawson doesn’t have a world title under his belt as a coach but he did enjoy an illustrious career with Australia during which he played 46 Tests and took 180 wickets.

Whatmore was touted as a hot favourite to take over as India’s coach after the World Cup but could not even make the short list for the job. After missing out on that opportunity, Whatmore showed an interest in coaching Pakistan.

Sources say that senior team players and a couple of officials have told top PCB officials that they would be more comfortable working with Lawson than Whatmore.

Recently, team manager Talat Ali was ‘warned’ by former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga against appointing Whatmore as the Pakistan coach. Ranatunga was the captain and Whatmore coach when Sri Lanka won the World Cup held in the sub-continent.

Sources say that Talat will have a meeting with PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf in Lahore today and one of the main items on the agenda would be the selection of the coach.

Though Talat, a former Test cricketer doesn’t have a say in the appointment of the coach, sources said that he would express his personal feelings as well as conveying reservations shown by senior players over the appointment of Whatmore as the coach.

The new Pakistan coach is likely to begin his tenure with a training camp to be held in Karachi from July 26 in preparation for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup to be held in South Africa in September.

Foreigners not capable of coaching Pakistan: Miandad

KARACHI: Former batting maestro Javed Miandad believes that Australian coaches Dav Whatmore, Jeff Lawson and Richard Done — who have been shortlisted for Pakistan coach job — are not capable of coaching the national team.

Talking to reporters Miandad said:

“Foreign coaches have not done any good to the Pakistan team in the past. And after looking at the past performances, one could easily say that they are not better than local coaches.”

He opined that all three Australians coaches are not as much experienced as former national maestros so they could be given the chance to coach the national team. Citing his own example, Miandad said that in his era of coaching the Pakistan team, he delivered better results than any body else but due to poor policies of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) he stepped down.

“Pakistan’s biggest achievement, winning the 1992 World Cup, was due to the efforts of players and local coach (Intikhab Alam),”

he said.

Answering to a query he said:

“There is no question of player power in the team. The players have no right to say anything on appointment of coach or other issues. PCB should have strong policy regarding to player power. But due to their incompetence they (PCB) have to listen to the players also.”

The former captain said that Salman Butt after being made the vice-captain should be accepted by the players with open hearts.

“Players should focus on their performances and not on such issues,”

he explained.

About Twenty20 form of cricket Miandad said:

“This format is suitable for other teams like Australia, South Africa, England etc because they need money. But in the subcontinent we have enough money. It will only destroy cricket and will do no good to Pakistan cricketers.”

He opined that national cricketers are not capable of playing long innings and they are weak in fielding so T20 cricket will further destroy them. On the doping issue he said:

“I must say that the PCB seemed really stupid on the issue. First they held both the bowlers (Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif) responsible and called them back from the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy. Then they themselves formed the tribunal to look on the issue which also held them responsible. But afterwards they made another committee which proved that both the bowlers are innocent.”

He further said that handling the case in such ridiculous manner not only tarnished the image of many respective personalities but also made the people of Pakistan ashamed.

Avoid Whatmore, says Ranatunga

KARACHI: Former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga has advised Pakistani players and team management not to have Australian Dav Whatmore as their new coach, sources said.
Ranatunga, who captained Sri Lanka to 1996 World Cup glory with Whatmore as the coach, is learnt to have given a “run-down” on the Australian when he had a chance meeting with manager-cum-coach Talat Ali in Scotland where the team had recently gone to play two one-day games, according to reliable sources in the Pakistan team.

“Ranatunga was asked for his opinion about Whatmore as he has worked for a number of years in the Sri Lankan team,”

one source said.

“Ranatunga during his talks with Talat and some senior players gave them a run down on Whatmore and eventually his advice was to avoid him,”

he added.

“Ranatunga did admit that Whatmore was coach when Sri Lanka won the 1996 World Cup but said the players had a big credit in this as well,”

he continued. When Whatmore was Sri Lankan coach he had problems with Ranatunga with both speaking out against each other publicly.

Pakistan coach to be named in a few days

ISLAMABAD: The coach for the national cricket team is expected to be named in a few days, it was officially learnt on Monday. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is expected to finalise the name of the coach, who will probably be a foreigner, before July 15. The vacancy of the coach has been vacant since the death of Bob Woolmer on March 18 — a day after Pakistan were eliminated from the World Cup in the very first round in the West Indies. Prominent among the foreigners in line for the job of Pakistan cricket coach are Geoff Lawson and Dav Whatmore, both from Australia.

Inzamam gives the thumbs-up to Whatmore

Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan captain, has backed Dav Whatmore to be appointed as coach of the Pakistan team. "He has a lot of experience and a strong coaching background like Bob [Woolmer] did,"Inzamam told Reuters. "He appears most likely to be selected as coach."

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has interviewed three Australians - Whatmore, Geoff Lawson and Richard Done - for the coaching position which fell vacant after the death of Woolmer during the World Cup in March.

Inzamam, who retired from ODIs and stepped down as captain after Pakistan's early exit from the World Cup, said Whatmore had a lot of experience working in the cricket set-up in the region.

"He has coached Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and produced good results. So I think he is the one the board will eventually select.

"The Pakistani players need an experienced and strong coach like Woolmer to guide them and get the best performances out of them. I have always said our team needs a qualified coach."

Inzamam had earlier also stated his intention of wanting to continue playing Test cricket.

Pakistan cricket team’s new coach by July 1

KARACHI: Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Dr. Nasim Ashraf said that this impression is wrong that Dave Whatmore had not applied for the position of coach.

Talking with media at the National Stadium, Karachi, Nasim Ashraf said that after consulting with the captain and players, the nomination of new coach would be announced by July 1.

He said that fast bowler Mohammad Asif was removed from the position of vice captain not on the pressure of ICC or doping case. Salman Butt has the potential of leadership and it is therefore he has been appointed vice captain.

He said that Rs.800 million have been allocated in the PCB budget for upgrading of grounds.

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."

New coach to be nominated in July: Nasim Ashraf

BHURBAN: Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board Dr. Nasim Ashraf said that both Richard Done and Geoff Lawson are determined for coaching the Pakistan cricket team.

The name of the new coach of the national cricket team will definitely be announced in July after the interview of Dave Whatmore.

He was talking with Abid Malik of News in Bhurban.

Lawson ‘honoured’ to be Pakistan coach candidate

BHURBAN, Pakistan: Former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson said on Monday he was honoured to be a candidate to coach Pakistan, saying it was one of the top jobs in world cricket.
Lawson, 49, is one of three Australians shortlisted to replace Bob Woolmer along with former Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore and Richard Done.

“I am honoured and feel great pride to be among the running candidates".

“Pakistan have a bright future and that’s what took me here,”

Lawson told reporters in Bhurban.

“It is one of the most important jobs in world cricket. I am actually in the running and it is great to be back in Pakistan after 25 years,”

said Lawson, part of the Australian team who lost 3-0 in a Test series here in 1982.

Lawson, who took 180 wickets in 46 Tests between 1980 to 1987, arrived here early Monday and was interviewed by a three-member Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) panel in the afternoon. He admitted he was initially reluctant to come but changed his mind after last week’s announcement by Jamaican police that Woolmer died of natural causes and was not murdered, as initially announced.

“It is fair to say that I changed my mind after it was announced Woolmer died of natural causes. I mean, there could not have been any other reason and had it been I would not have been here,”

said Lawson.

The Australian said it was “disappointing” to see Pakistan dumped out of the World Cup by outsiders Ireland in March.

“They are impressive when they play well and are frustrating when they play bad but they still are a good group of men who can be motivated,”

Lawson said of the Pakistan team, whom he will meet on Tuesday (today).

“I have been a great admirer of Pakistan players, having watched their matches in early mornings in Australia and met some players”

while working with the media, he said.

Done interviews for Pakistan coaching job

Pakistan have interviewed Richard Done, the former New South Wales bowler and ICC High Performance Manager, for the position of coach, a post they hope to fill in before the team tours Scotland in July.

Done, 51, is part of Pakistan's coaches' shortlist along with fellow Australians Dav Whatmore and Geoff Lawson. Ahsan Malik, the Pakistan board's communications director, confirmed that Done had been interviewed and that the board expected to interview the other two candidates by next week.

Done, who took over as ICC's High Performance Manager from Bob Woolmer in 2004 after the latter was appointed Pakistan's coach, previously visited Pakistan in 2001 on a coaching assignment with the National Academy in Lahore. His main area of focus on that visit was to give guidance on coach training and suggestions on Academy work.

Apart from his stint with the ICC, Done also worked with the Australian Academy and the Queensland Academy of Sport. He played 10 first-class matches and took 21 wickets at 41.76.