Re: Hunt for Pakistan’s Coach - Lawson, Done, Whatmore heads to Pakistan for intervie
Lawson outlines plan for Pakistan
Geoff Lawson delivered a strong message to the Pakistan squad about the hard work needed to make the team successful when he was interviewed for the coach’s job. Lawson believes Dav Whatmore, the former Bangladesh mentor, is the favouite for the position, which is also being chased by Richard Done.
“I won’t be surprised if I get it, I won’t be surprised if I miss out,” Lawson said in the Sydney Morning Herald. "I wouldn’t have gone for the interview if I wasn’t keen. It would be a terrific challenge. Dav is obviously the front-runner, but I told [the players] about the hard work that has to be done to make the team successful.
“I think they appreciate how the Australian approach to playing cricket is a successful one and that’s what they’re trying to tap into. I didn’t chase the job, so there isn’t much to lose if I don’t get it.”
Lawson said he was waiting to hear from the Pakistan Cricket Board about the appointment. When he went for the interview last month the players were at a training camp and Lawson was impressed with what he saw.
“Those internal games can sometimes be played at, how would you say, less than full intensity, but they were having a go,” he said. “My impressions were very good. They were playing hard and they were playing with attitude. There’s a lot of talent there to work with. It’s an exciting prospect.”
Re: Hunt for Pakistan’s Coach - Lawson, Done, Whatmore heads to Pakistan for intervie
Whatmore best for Pakistan job: Lawson
Former Test paceman Geoff Lawson says Dav Whatmore remains the favourite to be appointed Pakistan coach despite Indian reports describing Lawson as the players’ pick.
Influential website Cricinfo has quoted an Indian press report which said senior players “are said to be more keen on Geoff Lawson, wary of Whatmore’s reputation as a no-nonsense taskmaster”.
Former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga has also given Lawson’s hopes a boost by telling Pakistan team manager Talit Ali that Whatmore “should be avoided”.
Whatmore coached Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup-winning side led by Ranatunga, and this year guided minnows Bangladesh into the Super Eights stage of the World Cup in the Caribbean.
“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,” ex-Australian Test batsman Whatmore, 53, told Cricinfo.
“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.”
Lawson, 49, said on Wednesday there was no immediate deadline for the coaching decision.
“They don’t play again until the Twenty20 World Cup so there’s no urgent need to get this sorted out,” he said.
"Pakistan are in Scotland at the moment, getting rained-off in a one-day series.
"I would expect it would be in a couple of weeks.
"I don’t expect to get a call tomorrow, but that wouldn’t surprise me either.
"Having been over there and spoken to the players, I knew the guys who were on their coaching staff at the moment, I’d played against some of them.
“I had a good meeting with them, I got a good feeling out of it.”
Lawson said of Whatmore: "He has got the experience so he’s entitled to be the favourite.
“I was flattered to be invited to be interviewed in the first place,” Lawson said.
"Some people in Pakistan cricket must feel I have something to offer them. That always gives you some hope I suppose.
“If I get it, fantastic. It would be a great cricket challenge.”
Australian Richard Done, the ICC’s High Performance Manager, is the other candidate for the Pakistan job to replace Bob Woolmer who died in his Jamaican hotel room during Pakistan’s World Cup campaign.
Done, 51, is a former NSW fast bowler.
Lawson said the popularity of Australian coaches in world cricket was a vote of confidence in Australia’s coaching development programs.
Lawson’s former NSW team-mate Trevor Bayliss, a Pura Cup-winning coach with the Blues, has been named the new Sri Lankan coach, replacing Australian 1999 World Cup winner Tom Moody.
India and Bangladesh are also seeking new coaches after former Australian captain Greg Chappell stepped down from the Indian post and Whatmore departed Bangladesh.
Former NSW wicketkeeper David Moore coaches West Indies, replacing Queenslander Bennett King after this year’s World Cup.
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.
Re: Hunt for Pakistan’s Coach - Lawson, Done, Whatmore heads to Pakistan for intervie
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.
Re: Hunt for Pakistan’s Coach - Lawson, Done, Whatmore heads to Pakistan for intervie
Pakistan’s coach hunt about to stop Lawson likely to be appointed Pakistan’s coach
Barring any late glitches, Geoff Lawson, the former Australian Test fast bowler, is likely to be appointed as the new Pakistan coach on Monday.
A board official close to the coaching selection process told Cricinfo that final negotiations with Lawson, who had impressed them the most, were underway. “It is heading Lawson’s way definitely. There are still a couple of things to be sorted out but it is looking like he is the man for us,” said the official.
Lawson was one of three Australians shortlisted and interviewed for the position by the Pakistan board, Dav Whatmore and Richard Done the other two, after the position was let vacant following the death of Bob Woolmer.
Whatmore was the early favourite for the position but it is now understood that a number of players, as well as key members of team management, were keener on Lawson than Whatmore and have passed on their preference to the board. Whatmore’s cause was not helped by former Sri Lanka captain, Arjuna Ranataunga, who is alleged to have advised Pakistan against Whatmore during a chance meeting in Glasgow.
Lawson played 46 Tests for Australia and though he hasn’t got international coaching experience, he has coached New South Wales. Pakistan will be eager to make sure that Lawson agrees to the offer before they make a formal announcement, taking care to avoid the fate that befell their Indian counterparts, who announced Graham Ford as their next coach only for Ford to turn the offer down.
The PCB’s ad-hoc committee is in Karachi for a two-day meeting starting Sunday and the board is expected to name the coach officially on Monday. They are also expected to announce new central contracts for players.
Re: Hunt for Pakistan's Coach - Lawson, Done, Whatmore heads to Pakistan for intervie
Very good development. Dav Whatmore might have been more qualified, but his unprofessional and greedy behavior which included "publicly" throwing his hat in the ring for the position of Head INdian coach, showing his lack of interest in Pakistan position, only to reverse his position after the INdian board rejected him -- have exposed himt o be a very opportunistic person, who could desert us at any time in future for any reason, as opposed to Lawson for whom this is a 'step up' professionally and therefore he's likely to be more committed and dedicated.
Re: Hunt for Pakistan’s Coach - Lawson, Done, Whatmore heads to Pakistan for intervie
Well, I guess in his defence Lawson can atleast admit that he was honest when he gave this statement on June 1st, when Bob Woolmer’s death was still a mystery.
I think whatever he said is understandable under those circumstances when everyone was thinking that Pakistani cricket coach was murdered.
You can’t compare it with the flip flop stunts shown by Mr. Whatmore in the last 4 months.
Re: Hunt for Pakistan’s Coach - Lawson, Done, Whatmore heads to Pakistan for intervie
Lawson looks forward to PCB verdict
Geoff Lawson is not ready to allow himself a big smile yet. Even if there are strong indications, as Cricinfo learned late on Saturday, that Lawson will be the next coach of Pakistan, the Australian is waiting for the official announcement to be made by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday.
“They have got a committee meeting tomorrow when they are going to officially let people know tomorrow afternoon Australian time, and I’ve been made aware of that by the PCB,” said Lawson from Sydney.
Lawson said the negotiations are on. “I’m still talking to them [the PCB]. All things being equal, if they do offer me the position there are few details to sort out.”
Lawson was one of the three Australians who applied for the job last month, and his chances got a shot in the arm when many from the Pakistan national team backed his name. A former Australian fast bowler and captain of New South Wales, Lawson was confident that the Pakistan board would be impressed with his presentation and his vision for Pakistan cricket, which is trying to pick itself up after the tragic demise of Bob Woolmer, their previous coach, during the World Cup. “I was happy with the way the interview went and now I look forward to the decision.”
**If Lawson gets the job, it’ll be the first time Pakistan will have a fast bowler as their head coach. Meanwhile Lawson, though excited, is doing his best to hide his emotions. “I am too enthusiastic if it happens, and if the doesn’t there still a lot of cricket in Australia. But I am looking forward to hearing it officially on Monday.” **
Re: Hunt for Pakistan's Coach - Lawson, Done, Whatmore heads to Pakistan for intervie
Meanwhile Lawson, though excited, is doing his best to hide his emotions. "I am too enthusiastic if it happens, and if the doesn't there still a lot of cricket in Australia. But I am looking forward to hearing it officially on Monday." **
His hunger for success on internation level could be his main weapon. Being a pacer himself, will he be considering any role for any of our former pacers?
Re: Hunt for Pakistan's Coach - Lawson, Done, Whatmore heads to Pakistan for intervie
I think Lawson would be a better choice anyway, but what irks me is the player control over the coach selection. The players supposedly didn't want Whatmore because of him being "tough" as far as training/fitness is concerned. We do need a coach who is tough and can assert his authority, otherwise there'll be no improvement in fitness/technique/basics/skillset, etc etc.
