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Thank you Mr Abbasi for this new thread.

You say that Whatmore “knows the Australian way but he also knows Asia”. I hope that will be helpful in that Whatmore can nurture the raw talent of Asia into the professionalism of the Aussies.
Many individuals have supported Miandad for the post of the new coach. When Miandad has had a few unsuccessful stints as coach, I don’t know how his reappointment in the future would be of any material assistance. He is a bit before my time and I never saw him play, but his records are awe inspiring to say the least. The majority in Pakistan want him to be portrayed as a simpleton and an uneducated “street rat” but in truth he seems to be a shrewd cricketer whose only problem was that he was too good and lacked the support of the masses. What Pakistani batsmen have lacked is consistency (which is probably the main reason why Pakistan has not been a top team for a long time) but Miandad was probably the most consistent batsman Pakistan ever had.

Just to remind the readers, I mentioned earlier that the benefits of having a foreign coach are that he would be more adept at addressing the main weaknesses of Pakistan- opening and fielding. However, the Woolmer experiment demonstrated that that target is difficult to achieve. The benefits of having a local coach are that he would be more approachable and the communication gap would be eroded. So the answer is not easy to provide but at present it does seem that Whatmore will be granted the job.
When we were discussing the “new age” of Pakistani cricket on this blog, many people said that this is the time to take risks and experiment. Yes we can experiment to a certain extent, but we must keep in mind that the training for the next World Cup begins now and we still have a long way to go when it comes to players’ fitness, discipline, opening and fielding. Hence the PCB must ponder hard before it comes to any conclusion and this is where I must repeat that is the appointment of Whatmore (who only looks Asian but apart from that is completely “westernised”) a prudent decision in the light of the fact that Woolmer was probably the most skilled and approachable (as in approachable to the players) foreign coach Pakistan could appoint at that time? And I totally agree with those bloggers who state that Woolmer’s appointment did not really produce the results that were expected. The fielding has improved but that is only because of the young, more fit players like Hafeez, Nazir, Malik, Hameed etc. The opening problem is worst than ever. Under Woolmer all Pakistani openers failed and under Woolmer we had to come to an implicit conclusion that all our openers, right from Taufeeq Umar to Imran Nazir, are incompetent and hence we have started this rotational policy. Otherwise, what was the point of bringing Imran Nazir back in the World Cup when he had not played international cricket for a long time? What is the point of including Salman Butt when only in his previous stint as opener he showed us he does not possess the temperament to open?
Now after a few months we will see Imran Farhat, the worst opener in the history of Pakistan cricket, making a return to the international arena. His father-in-law is going on a hunger-strike-till-death as a protest to his ban from entry into Gaddafi stadium. I have only one thing to say to that: L-O-L.

Butt has been appointed vice captain for the time being. This decision is only commendable if it has been made because the PCB want the youngster to take some responsibility and improve his batting skill. If there is any other reason, then it is unfair to make him VC when there are more deserving players like Rao Iftikar and Umar Gul. Heck, Mohammad Sami is inconsistent like Butt and has played for longer than Butt. He has such a supreme control over his fitness that he is available for selection for every series. Why not appoint him as VC? I know Butt had a successful recent series in Abu Dhabi but it is folly to appoint someone VC just because he scored two good knocks on a flat track.

Lawson is the man. Bowlers win matches and that should be Pakistan’s new direction. Along with proper fielding methods, fit battery of bowlers and confidence given to our batsmen, I feel Pakistan would flourish under Lawson. Pick Lawson PCB!

I totally agree...you cannot see beyond Dav Whatmore at the moment. He has the qualifications and, more importantly, the pedigree (based on his stints with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) to be successful in Pakistan. If he isn's appointed, i will not be too surprised - after all this is pakistan cricket. Interestingly, i too have to ask the question regarding Aqib Javed and Miandad - maybe they were too pakistani for the post. Anyway, Dav seems to be able to operate within south asia and he seems to understand the psyche and so, lets get him in and try to win things.

With all the greatest respect to Mr. Whatmore's skills, I object to his appointment, if it be made. Mr. Whatmore was never interested in the Pakistani job, but only realized that it was his best bet once the Indian corridors were closed on him. I won't use the word greedy as everybody looks for the best for themselves. And furthermore, reports emanating from Bangladesh suggest that Dav is not "perfect" when it comes to dealing with senior sides, but is capable of handling junior ones. I would support whosoever takes the job, but my gut bet is that Mr. Geoff Lawson, test bowler par decent excellence, should be given a chance as if we have to beat the best, we have to join the best, and Dav is more Asian than Australian ... needless to say Australia(n) is the way forward!

Hi,

What happened to next coach will be a Pakistani !!! For me Javed was the best choice, however....Dav will have a big task on hand.

Good luck to next Coach

Anawar

Hello Kamran, I am not so sure as you that Dav is the man. 1st question is does he read your blog (surely a pre-requisite for any Pak coach!)

My main short-givings with Mr Whatmore are two-fold - 1, he got rejected by India - if they didn't want him, why do we? and 2, he has potentially pre-conceived ideas - things that may have worked with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh may not do so with Pakistan - after all the people of all three countries are all different, and he will have to deal with cultural differences within the team - the Punjabis as opposed to the Pathans - the Urban Karachi youngster as opposed to a village cricketer.

He also needs to be strong with our former cricketeres - get them on his side and working with our players and for our country - a failing of every previous coach - why aren't Wasim, Waqar, Aaqib, Mushtaq, Qadir used more for coaching youth - Imran should be urged to set up leadership training for our Captains, Miandad, Ijaz Ahmed, Zaheer Abbass should be showing our batsmen the way - if a Pakistan coach - indeed if Dav Whatmore can harness this resource and use it to develop and nurture a strong team, only then will we be successful.

Hello to Everyone
I have written one or two times earlier. I think at the moment Dav is the best choice for the coach of Pakistan cricket team. There are several reasons of my support.
1) He is coaching in asia from almost previous 10 years with success so he knows the asian conditions very well.
2)He has the vast experience of coaching and of producing good results also in county circuite as well.
3) He is an innovative person.
4) He has the knowledge of australian style as well as of asian style which could be benifical for PAKISTAN cricket.

Now some would say that PCB shold go for javed miandad but I am not in his favour at all because he already worked in the capacity of coach three times but every time there is a revolt from playres and he has to go. Because he wants to impose or force things on players every time which I think is a wrong atitude.
Anyway DAV WATMORE is an excellent choice for PAKISTAN.

Only PCB can select Dav Whatmore as a coach.Last month when he was coach of Bangladesh,in the last test match against India, he intentionally took decision to bowl first after won the toss.He did this because he was interested for the post of Indian coach. So he tried to please & give oiling to indian cricket management.He was much more eager for indian win rather than Bangladesh team. But India certainly did not honour that type of man who can do against his own team for personal interest. But unfortunately PCB invited this man for their coach. What a shame. PCB must rethink for the future of their team.

Hi,
sry Kamran Sahib but i dont agree with you about Dav Whatmore. I like Lawson or Done to be the coach of our team. I think we need some1 who is agressive and young. He should also concentrate fully on our team. Dav Whatmore shoed his interest during world cup in Indian coaching when his team was already playing there. I dont like it at all.

All of Pakistani nation would welcome Dav. I think a foreign coach is somehow better for Pakistan cricket then a local coach. Although language is going to be a problem with the foreign coach but not as much as it’s going to be politics with domestic coach. Any how I and my friends would be really happy if PCB appoints Dav Whatmore.
Best of luck Pakistan cricket and best of luck Dav.

The role of the coach is over-rated.
Australia is not number one beacuase of a coach but the system that they have developed to groom their players for International cricket.
So invest in domestic cricket, instead of hoping some magic from the coach.

I hope they give him the job. I also hope that in the first India-Pakistan series after his appointment sees India getting beaten badlyy.

Dav Whatmore should then write an article on India lacking "tactical awareness" during the series - a subtle hint to Sunil Gavaskar saying that he fuc** up, and badly.

Dave is a great coach but Richard Done has great credentials as well. He succeeded Bob Woolmer as ICC's high performance manager, and has also been associated with Australia's cricket academy. Dave's initial preference for India, while still coaching Bangladesh somehow disappointed me. Didn't look too professional. In this context, I wonder how he would've reacted if he had been our coach at Lords last year.

A lot of people are also talking about Lawson but I am not sure if he has better qualifications.
It would be great if someone could dig up the trio's coaching methodologies and win/loss record.

Although the previous thread was about suing the Caribbean authorities or those involved in publicizing Woolmer's case against Pakistan with a malign intent and, my last two posts in that thread were about the new coach. Kamran Abbassi has once again proved that his role and the role of the bloggers should be, if we can't beat them join them. Because, I see the same kinda similarities in views and expressions before the captain was selected. Now, I am expecting the same kinda response from the readers like; "yes Kamran you are right, Dav is the man", well written Kamran, "I am agree." Yes Kamran, Dav Whatmore has the experience to deal with the sub-continent teams and he has proved his mettle, so he is the man etc., etc.

Lawson, who appeared from nowhere on the crime scene did his last bit by praising Shoaib Akhtar, what he said about him isn't wrong. And he also said, "he is impressed by the PCB organization." This is pure Australian butter, unfortunately he cannot cook his butter chicken in Pakistan as Dav's recipe has more spice innit. As regards Aquib Javed and Javed Miandad they fit into the category or the proverbial expression, 'desi murghi daal barabar.'

You have also hinted Bob Woolmer's difficulties and inabilities in blending or to get under the skin of the players' culture and hence it became possible to marginalise his influence. So, what is the guarantee that Dav will succeed where Bob failed? Is it the Inzamam factor or the Tableeghi culture? One of them is still prevailing to some extent. Most importantly, the Big Bad Boy is still in the team, he has his own tantrums and issues to deal with. I think its for this reason Lawson wanted to please him and appease him or to grab the bull by its horns before he gets the job. I think thats what he must have thought by targeting Shoaib Akhtar and to deal with him on the basis of his experience as a bowler and, maintain the fast bowler's brotherhood with him to keep him on his side or under control.

This is exactly what Greg Chappell did when he arrived in India and before his selection, he targeted Tendulkar and started praising the out of form and injured little master batter by saying; he's still got three or four very good years left in him and he will be the man to watch in the World Cup. We all know what happened after that and how he managed to get rid of Ganguly and how hard it was for Ganguly to get back in to the playing XI again. There were divisions and fractions within the team, some senior players were openly taking sides with Ganguly and the Indian media labeled him as "Guru Chappel". Isn't that politics? Chappell would have stayed longer had India succeeded in reaching the second stage of the game but, his dreams were shattered and he must be cursing Bangladesh.

Nasim Ashraf thinks, as he says: "there is too much internal politics and only a foreign coach can neutralize it." The problem is Nasim Ashraf has a coloured curtain over his eyes or he views everything with a kaleidoscope. Besides, he has no experience for this job and the simple and easiest solution would be a mere resignation instead of prolonging his agony and ultimately facing a humiliating departure with usual kicks on butts and the traditional Pakistani 'jootaon ka haar' for the losers. There is a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Pakistan but, that is only for poor people I guess, the big fish is not accountable even when they rot and stink they are 'untouchables in a different way' and are always above the law and not accountable to anyone!

Yup, i agree, there is no doubt in the ability and capabilities of Dav. he is a superb couch and possibly the best suited, with the remaining contenders, the script could be same as that of Grig Chappel, so its the need of time and pakistan should avail Dav to get the big boost to 2011 world cup(which is going to be held in sub ciontinent) and these conditions are best known to Dav more than anyone else. and beside Dav PCB should also hire a person, who can teach players on their career milestones, and i am sure that this will boost players performances itself, rather than playing without any ambition

Salaam All
I really dont think dave whatmore is the right guy for pakistan cricket at the moment reason is that even though whatmore has Asian experience and this itself is not good enough to become multi dimension pakistani cricket team coach. Whatmore recently was not able to promote bangladesh cricket team to level where world would see improvement and some consistent results after all the time whatmore had with them. Now one must ask that bangladesh was able to upset india and south africa in recent world cup. If i remember correctly bangladesh was able to upset pakistan in 1999 world cup and after that bangla team went into self destructive mode and they are still not out of it completely. Whatmore had 4 years with bangla team and he should have made some progress to show by winning SOME crucial matches on consistent basis which he was not able to. bangla team showed glimpse of being an international team here and there and that’s all. What pakistan need is the coach who can create atmosphere in a team where they only go out to be positive and have that fire to win all the matches all the time. I would think that Jeff lawson could be the right guy for pakistan team. Lawson has the credential and he knows Australian system and physic to bring new ideas and new strategy to this pakistan team. Lawson would be able to groom fast bowlers for pakistan and in his contract there should be a clause where if the national team is not competing than he should spent some time with local fast bowlers. Whatmore had a young bangla side and he was not able to groom them as a unit in 4 years time. Its time to move on to someone who can bring fresh ideas to take pakistan cricket into 21st century. That’s my story and I am sticking to it. Thanks

If Dav is the chossen one, then why this farce of interviews and all with lesser known Coaches. Lawson and the other guy are big names but not for their coaching achievements. What pakistani team needs a good crickting brain. I think the real competition should have been between Miandad and DAV. While waqar or wasim should have been the bowling coach. Plus a full fledge fielding coach; Our side needs match planning and fielding coaching than anything else.
There is very less chance the current board with the goofs in charge will do any good, Unfortunately!!

As predicted Dav Watmore is still the first choice candidate for the job even though *his* first priority was India and not Pakistan. To be honest I don't blame him for making such a choice but being a Pakistani I'm glad BCCI didn't even consider him becasue it means PCB is in good position to negotiate with him as he's got no other choices now.
I personaly think Watmore is the best coach Pakistan could get considering his successful coaching stints in SL and B'desh. He's got the Aussie attitude and knows how the Asian cricketers work so I'm quite positive he'll be a good choice for Pakistan cricket.

Sorry Kamran Bhai, I do not agree with you on Whatmore. My suggestion is that we should go for someone who is hungry for success at this level. Whatmore has nothing to achieve and thus not hungry anymore. I would go for Geoff Lawson. I have seen him bowling in the 80s and he was a tough nut to shell even on dry subcontinental wickets. He was very very agressiv and skillful fast bolwer. I think we need this kind of a guy. He was very masterful in changing the pace of the deliveries while bowling fast. And I think that he should be more hungry at this level then the other two. Beside that he has no international coaching expirience. Go for someone new and not for those who have been proven.

Kamraan for God’s sake don’t build the mountain of hopes on hollow foundations of nostalgic scepticism. Call me a pessimistic or cry baby but what is certain is this that I like realistic people and statements which give credence to the ground realities. May be your are either unaware of those realities or deliberately trying to supersede them in the name of nationalistic pride. Look our cricketing infrastructure and the process to govern the domestic cricket is so horrible that either you call some one from heavens to coach this bunch of unruly and arrogant cricketers who have a history of non cooperation and undermining the authority of any one and collude to form factions within the team.
What Dav or heaven’s sake any other super hero kind of coach can do when the whole system which breed our cricketers is decadent and is perennially ruled by the autocratic and unprofessional administrators who’s prime priorities always to such the leader of board (Chief patron or any other so called higher authority in this hierarchical organization PCB) and to get stick with the post for their own benefits with no concept of accountability and questioning. Until our system and processes is to be overhauled and strict code of discipline is enforced ..yes enforced ruthlessly not just mere by talking I challenge you and anyone from the same mental aptitude like yours that not in this current world Pakistan cricket can even imagine to compete the powerful dynamics of world cricket and its proponents like Australia , South Africa. After all we had one of the best and most professional coaches at the helm the late Bob Woolmer, but what he got in the end undermining his authority and marginalised that supreme strategist of contemporary game to a just training and conditioning individual.

Such a disgraceful and contempt full attitude towards that innocuous person who before taking the reins of Pakistan team was the accepted magician from around the world and resurrected the fortunes of Warwickshire and South Africa and was doing a wonderful job at ICC as high performance manager. Nothing would be changed, this team no matter how talented it is unless it is properly harnessed with proper and systematic administration with utmost professionalism and strict enforcement of disciplines would definitely bound to fail more miserably abroad as our team have the habit of doing this to beat mediocre teams at home based featherbed stripes and when the going got tough in tough conditions (Like seaming and bouncing tracks aided by some good pace bowlers) we have seen its (Pakistan team’s) ultimate humiliations on countless occasions and there is no need to outline them here because the list is very long. In the end I have to urge you Kamraan that be realistic and don’t show the rosy path of optimism to our flicking and emotional fans of Pakistan, majority of those who always allows the emotions to carry away them and never think realistically and critically to the changing dynamics of this fast paced game.

I think Whatmore will be a good choice to coach Pakistan. He has experience in coaching asian sides so would be familiar with the politics that goes around our team and would also be able to understand the star player culture which we have. He has proven credentials already in the international arena. Good luck Mr. Whatmore and i wish Team Pakistan all the success in the world.

In my view two people have chance Lawson and Whatmore but I think Whatmore have more experience than Lawson and possess good man mangement skills. It was his idea to go out and kill the bowlers in the first fifteen overs. My vote is for Whatmore but PCB should give him a bowling coach as well. In the end it doesnt matter whoever get the job, but one thing is for sure the winner will be an 'Austrailian'.

I would select him as Pakistani coach. He kept Pakistan as second choice for coaching, and India first. Since he was rejected and not even interviewed by Indian committee, then turned to Pakistan coaching job. I don’t think any foreign country coach is going to make any difference. They are all same. PCB has become a laughing stock, initially they wanted to hire a low profile coach and after making a u-turn in their policy going after to a high profile one. Also David Whatmore has not even applied for the job, PCB has contacted him personally. Why not the same policy for Pakistan Great Miandad? You cannot compare apple with orange. The status of Miandad is far from imagining for Dave. Under present circumstances Miandad is the best choice. We have to control our cricketers and completely eliminate the power player and then a less costly Pakistan coach can bring more than what we’re trying to achieve from a foreign coach.

New York

Dav is a good choice but Moody or Aaqib would have been better. I surpirsed they(PCB) did not make any effort to get the best possible candidates.

I agree with Kamran that Dav's the man to coach Team Pakistan, given Kam's reasoning that Dav's knows the Australian way and knows Asia. Although I hate Team Australia with a passion, I still think they're the team everyone should be looking at as a model team.

Having a local coach could mean a lot of distractions for the team, given our track record of internal politics involving the coach and the board or the coach and the players or the coach and the selectors etc. Dav shouldn't have a problem communicating with the players as he's been pretty successful with Sril Lanka and Bangladesh.

Having said that, I think Aaqib Javed would be a terrific coach but he is needed more at the Academy right now where he's grooming the future of Pakistan. This is probably the best step PCB has taken ever. keep Aaqib at the academy and let him be the architect of the future talent. Later on, he can be their coach if and when they crack the national line up.

dav is the fit man for pakistan to coach because he have lot of talent

I have a suspicion that after coaching international teams for so many years and also having been just ignored by his first choice India, Whatmore might not still have the burning desire anymore. Geoff Lawson on the other hand can be a worthy bet. He seems fresher and brings with him the Aussie aggression that coupled with Pakistani talent might just be the tonic we are looking for.

Ok, so all they have is three Australians. We should have had a Pakistani coach to begin with which at the moment look impossible, as none of the one's shortlisted is a Pakistani. I wouldn't count out the Richardson guy, yep! will take Dav with a pinch of salt. What a sham! what burns me is that each candidate went and had a chat with a group of players. What on earth they may have talked about? It would be a laugh if board solicited the input of players, what do they have to say about the candidate, that he looked competent! I guess there is no point in revisiting this whole sordid affair. Whatmore does top the list in my opinion, regardless of which way the decision goes.

I like dav whatmore's ways and would agree to have him on as a coach. No one is perfect but I agree that given whatmore's experience with asian teams and given his generally encouraging performance on both the occasions in otherwise mediocre teams of their eras, I think he is quite reasonable option a bit like that guus hiddink for australia and south korea. So best of luck to him. Although I am not quite sure if PCB's highly paid dumbheads would choose him at the end as they always have surprises in store for u. Watch out mate!!

hey! well Pakistan is in search of a coach. Good!!! we should select the best one....but in my opinion i dont think WHatmore is the man for the job.He tried india first during his contract with Bangladesh. When he was neglected he tried with us,Pakistanis........really i dont think that we need that kind of man. He is a professional coach so why is acting double-minded??? Leave him and see the other two. agar us ney hamarey saath aisa kiya to hum kya karein gain?????????????? Think about it....

Dav Whatmore bought attacking free flowing cricket to both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh- that will definately suit Pakistan. India were silly to let him go, but their loss is definately Pakistan's Gain. I hope he get the support of Pakistan's 'eratic' former players.

No Kamaran Bhai I do not agree with you on this one, back to the failed strategy again no foreign coaches and phisiotherapist period, dose'nt matter how good they are. Pakistan have enough talent and people to do the job. Bangladesh was rookies understand able needs someone to guide them but Pakistan does not fit into this category something that is not sinking into the PCB knuckle heads administration, they just wants to keep on spending big time foreign exchange just for nothing. Why dont these jerks spend this money making sporting pitches and grounds and see how the fortune cookie crumbles. Getting an Australian born coach and having a sweet dream that we will beat Australia good luck idiots. Being servant of GORAS they ever going to be mentally their servants, wake up bull headed administration and smell the coffee. I feel so sorry for Pakistan cricket dying a slow painful death and no one to rescue.

Dr. sahb ye sab sadi bakwas hai, buss ju ho team kay liye acha ho. Why is Mr. Lawson going in camps, talking to players and giving his views on Shoaib Akhtar when selection of coaches is in pipeline, what kind of transparency is this? When Wasim Akram is coaching bowlers, why are we looking for an ex-bowler to be full time coach? My reservation with Whatmore is he was always interested in India's job, he never really looked to Pakistan job as a biggest challenge in cricket; we must make sure about his commitment and that he is not only looking for job because he could not get what he wanted and has to do something.

I hope the PCB will not insult Dav Whatmore the way the Indians did. This man should be treated properly. Personally, I do not prefer high profile coaches but this man has proven himself over the years and deserves a solid chance. Go Whatmore!!!

Assalamolikum!You might think that my questioons trange BUT i have to ask who are the interviewers? what are their qualifications? do they deserve to interview? Do they know their job?I mean you know its a complete science to interview guys and shortlist them and stuff. Sure we should have the best available coach BUT I think its more of an inferiority complex than taking the best available guy, you know what I mean GORA saab and MEM saab mentality. If I would seriously think of shaping up the young guns, what would I do? I will have a blend of foreign + local coaches/assistants. So that we can also groom home grown coaches instead of relying on a foreign coach. Aqib Javed has won world under 19 title twice as a coach. Its not very philosophical to say that two people need to communicate to undersatnd each other, most of our national players are PAINDOOS. I mean we will have communication problems for sure hiring a foreign coach. I believe there is a lot to be done and can be done but if we sincerely want to do something, its MANJANA (DANG TAPAO) culture, i believe lots of re-programming is required. There is a long way to go until every single soul is elected/selected on merit and is accountable. I dont know what difference a local/foreign coach can make if his reigns are in some one else´s hands?

Why PCB is looking for foreign coach? Dav Whatmore is an excellent coach but I do think Pakistan need a coach like Javed Miandad at this moment as no understand Pakistani players, domestic cricket better then him. Do we believe that a foreign coach knows how our domestic cricket is being played. I am sure he will be no position to understand the complexity of our domestic structure with for example Allied BANK playing National BANK. Majority of our players will be more comfortable with a coach like Javed Miandad language vise then likes of Dave Watmore etc etc.

i dont know much of whatmores speciality but i think Pakistan needs a coach who can help out our batsmen more. We have excellent former fast bowlers who can help out now and then but our batsmen need to tighten their technique. So this said i dont think we need lawson, n i dont no if bone is a good choice either since he was a high perfomance manager not a coach!

It has to be Dav out of these three, although I would love to see Aaqib Javed given the chance given his huge success with Under-19. It probably speaks of our cultural inferiority complex that despite haveing a proven 'local' PCB is looking outside. Or may be they think a local coach is prone to getting involved in team politics. Miandad is a prime example in this regard. I am a great admirer of Miandad as a player, but not as a coach - his meddling nature means he wants a free hand in all affairs, which has led to division in the team in the past.

Of the other two candidates, PCB should learn from their experience with Richard Pybus. Very capable cricket coach, but with no experience of Asian way he struggled throughout. Chappell is another recent example. These two candidates may have good coaching credentials, but handling of Asian teams takes more than that.

Dav or Aaqib for me. Cheers

Dear Sir
With all due respect to your views, I feel every coach has a shelf life. Whatmore has used all of his. His experience with subcontinental teams is something which makes him the favourite but I do believe Pakistan are better off looking for a low profile coach.

Dav is the man for the job if the three on the shortlst are the only ones to be considered for the post of team coach. He was my choice when the process started with his experience of working with asian teams being the major factor. He worked wonders with Sri lanka leading them to world cup glory and has improved Bangladesh also to world cup giant killers. He will be working with a team of supremely talented and gifted players who on their day can win matches on their own and will have to instill a team ethic as he has done with is previous charges. Dav's teams has been been shown great improvements in fielding and fitness which when allied to the skill we have in the team should reap rewards. If Dav is not the choice of the PCB selection committee then I would not be keen o the other two shortlisted austrailians and would prefer to see Aqib Javed appointed alongside a batting coach. He has worked tremendously well with the junior teams and will be able to bring through the next generation of stars.Lets hope the PCB do something right for a change and chose DAv Whatmore.

SALAM......I THINK I WILL PREFER LAWSON....MAY BE BECAUSE I DIDNT LIKE THE FACT THAT WATMORE FIRST DESPERATELY WANTED INDIAN TEAM BUT THEY DIDNT GIVE HIM MUCH CONSIDERATION......SO HE TURNED TO PAKISTAN....WELL...THAT MAY NOT SOUND SO LOGICAL A REASON....WHOSOEVER BE CHOSEN ...BE CHOSEN IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF PAKISTAN...

Dav has been involved in Asian teams but that does not mean he can adopt and understand Pakistani culture easily. Both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka Boards are independent with proper legislations, on the other hand Pakistan overall and its cricket board is run on Ad-hoc basis. NO LEGISLATIONS, everywhere you will find One man show. I am afraid in these circumstances it does not matter if you bring Dav Whatmore or Tim bone or someone from Kala Shah Kaku with foreign name, the results are going to be the same.

In the end I want to thank Allah for diverting Imran Khan's attention from Younis Khan to Altaf Hussain.

Out of the 3 Australia Candidates, I would go for Lawson. I think it's worth trying out a bowling coach.

Dear kamran , I am surprised , why you have stopped to take to task the Dr on his woerds , sonn after hithe Wc2007 debacle , his so called show of resignation and then refusal by Musshy the pattern of the cronies to let him go , He opened his Mouth and said 'Our nest coach will only be a Local Coach " Like his Crony Mushy the pattern who promised the nation and the world to take off his uniform by Dec 2004 and then went back on this solemn given word ! , this Dr of troubles for the PCB is doing the same exactly and no one is taking him to task to abide by his words ! What it will make any diefference if it is either of the Australians , there will be hardly any gains for this team of YOYOs , Just saw a news on Geo screen " a sort of fight between the brainless Affridi and som eone else " Only diehard fools will imagine to see any impriovements , we have started hearing the same repeated words and slogans . we heard after the debacle of 2003 WC and the resutl of a forgone conclusion in the WC 2007 and same is the fate in WC 2011 ( Dav has candidly pointed to the same )

I am Bangladeshi and Dav Whatmore has made immense contribution to Bangladesh cricket and its development. He will be an ideal coach for Pakistan cricket team

Kamran,
A similar conclusion was jumped to before Grahm Ford accepted the job. PCB has better chance of pulling it off since the candidates it iterviewed do not have a job currently

Well Dav Whatmore looks like the candidate most people will like to succeed but it will not surprise me if Lawson comes out as the successor. I say this because Lawson has shown a lot more desire based on his post interview statements and may be he has a lot more to prove. On another note if we look at Whatmore coaching CV he has mainly worked with players who were much calmer with little or no egos. Working with Pakistan is very different. i have not heard any where else where an excricketer will have a go at the coach or threaten the selection committee if his son in law is been dropped as if he has the batting average of Hussey or bats like Viv Ricards.

Indeed, I agree with you. Dav did well to take a once mediocre Srilankan team to victory in 1996 world cup and recently under his coaching Bangladesh, the team that didn't know what's a win few years back, improved a lot and has become 'Giant Killers' as you mentioned. Another thing you've mentioned about him is his vast experience in asia. I think that's also going to come in handy for coming to terms with Pakistan cricket and settle the scrambling that it has been through in the past few years. In a word "He's the right man for the job".

I don't want to defend the choice of international coaches but the list of possible Pakistani coaches is not something lot of people are excited about, I would vote for Javed if somehow we know that he would not politicize the game again, Aqib - needs more experience under his belt, I am sure with more experience he will be ready in 5-6 years for the job, it would not hurt him if he can land an assistant coach job somewhere in international cricket, even in India, I am sure they need Pakistani bowling expertise.

I really prefer Lawson on Whatmore, Whatmore struck me as an opportunist and kinda mercenary you know. There is huge difference between Pakistani and Indian cricket, team composition is entirely different, and talent type couldn’t be more different. Cricket management is different, I don’t know why was he indecisive between the two countries and how can he think that he can be equally effective in no matter what the composition of team is!

the most imp thing...no matter ho is the coach...is to have one Assist COach and to train him for future role of pak coach...we must become self reliant.

I think with so much money at the helm of PCB they should hire Geoff Lawson as the bowling coach and Richard Done as the chief coach. Like all top teams in the world Pakistan also need a full time bowling coach and who else better than Lawson. Richard Done have impressive credentials as a coach. And your assessment that Dav Whatmore should be the coach,I disagree. Not because his heart was with the indian team and only after their refusal did he think of Pakistan, but because a coach in my openion should be a dressing room mechanic rather then the main driver of everything. He had success with Srilanka because they had such a strong team (albeit only in asian conditions)in 1996 world cup and every one knows what Ian chappel did with indian team , hence the bangladesh's success.Other wise bandladesh have only won one out of 45 test matches they have played and that too against zimbabwe. So what success,I must ask, you are talking about!! Now dont say that they have improved, thay did beat pakistani team without any known coach in 1999.In world cup there are bound to be some surprises(like Ireland's success).No Sir the other two candidates are pretty unknown and they would work hard to make their name in the world of coaching, plus they are not big name as Dav is, so there would not be less chances of the clash of egos with the pakistani players, which i must add, is bound to happen at some point of time. A bowling coach(Lawson) and head coach(Done) is WHAT pakistan need, not WHATmore.

"Dav Whatmore, welcome to the whacky world of Pakistan cricket"- I just love the way how you ended this. You put everything into perspective for Dav!!!

Dav's the man: has the skill and temperament!

What was India thinking?

I think Dave is just average coach.You can argue Bangla's win over India & SA but they also lost to Ireland which they wanted to win badly.I just dont fill whatever happened in Bangla Srilanka cricket is b'ze of Dave. On Srilankan victory Rantunga had bigger role while don't forget that Bangladesh has nothing to show except those WC victories despite Dave was there for 4 years.
Also there were bubbling youth who wanted to prove themselve; story with Pak team will be different. he wont usually get here from admin whatever he got in Bangla.
Rahul Dravid I think had clear look at him in last series and he did not favoured him tells much.

I think Aquib Javed was best candidate for Pakistan. we will not let him rust until he is 60 and will make him coach when he wont fit in role.
I think PCB dont actually know what kind of coach they want, first they went for Dave, Dave said NO, there was pause then BOON, MIandad, Aquib and now 2 more Aussies.. same as BCCI when it comes for professionalism we are worst and its for quite some time now.

The problem i have with Dav is that, no doubt he is a top notch international coach but he is more ODI cricket oriented than Test match material, look at the previous teams he has coached and their records,

if Pakistan are primiarly looking to prepare for the next world cup, then yes, Dav is the right man for the job, he no doubt will improve our fielding but longer form of the game, remains a worry for me.

Dav's not the man, he is only running for money, when he was rejected by India he ran to Pakistan. someone who has passion for the job should be selected as coach.

I have a couple of questions for PCB to consider: Why just Australians as candidates (if "foreign" coaches were the way to go)? How about approaching Cricket like American Football, having specialized coaching, like for fielding (a Jonty Rhodes type), batting (Sir Viv Richards), bowling (Aqib Javed), and a head coach (Tim Boon or Dav Whatmore)? Just having one head coach would be familiar to the PCB of course because of the Ad-Hoc mentality that seems to rule around there.

Amongst the three contestants Dave, i suppose, is by far the best (BUT)...he has the australian style but not to forget that style can be suicidel as happened with India. He has the asian knowledge but i would discount that because politics in Pakistan & india is altogether a different ball game than what he encountered in Lanka & B'desh...I have my worries for the pakistan team as they are under a very young captain that looks amateur to me & looks confused for his own role in the team (Batsmen or a Bowler...he is not perfect in either)..& as the situation seems he is a pawn in the hands of the selectors(Since Younis khan decided not to take up the captaincy). A foreign coach that too the one discarded by India could backfire. I would seek the opinion of Mr. Khan from MONTREAL, CANADA as to what he thinks on my thoughts. I love to see a pakistan side with Younis as Captain, & Imran khan as coach...trust me that team will be a world beater.

Yes, I believe Dav is the coach Pakistan need at this time. He has more experience working with subcontinent players than any other foreign coach. He understand the culture and how things work in that part of the world. His track record is pretty good as well.

I understand where you are coming from. Dav Whatmore seems like the safest bet; however, for some reason I feel Geof Lawson might be our guy. If we can cope with his Aussie attitude and our captain is able to embrace it than our team can start getting somewhere. He certainly seems like a better strategist than Whatmore; however, as he is bowler I wonder how would he help out our technically lacking batsman.

Dave was my first choiceI have always dreamed of him coaching Pakistan team,but the fact that he rejcted Pakistan's job while he was trying to get the Indian coaching job, makes me angry.He didn;t wanted to coach Bangladesh anymore and with the Indian team in trouble, he dreamed of taking the Indian job and didn't even give any importance to calls from Pakistannow that he is rejected he has already left the Bangladesh job, makes me feel uncomfortable.
If I listen to the call of my ego, I dont want Dave in Pakistan, i was very angry when PCB interviewed him.But if I think calmly, I think he is the best man Pakistan can get among the 3 those were shortlisted.He is a man who loves challenges and he is a strong individual who is aggressive in his cricket approach.
But deep down I think Aqib Javed could have been a very good choice but then we have to bear in mind the history and the way the ex Pakistani players indulge in politics and Aqib is no exception everyone knows abput his problems with Waqar and Wasim, so after seeing it all Dave seems like the man best suited for the Pakistan
side.I hope Pakistani players learn some english.

Your toothless comment about Bob Woolmer's death is deplorable. But I guess you have some vested interest ....

I think Dav whatmore will be the next Pakistan coach, but the cricket board have to make sure that no player disagrees with it, coz we dont want to see another cold war between players and coach as we see it in past (shoaib and woolmer)

we need a true muslim as our coach , mushtaq ahmed has done wonders as a pakistan bowling coach.. plus he looks handsome along with mohammed yousuf.

and too be honest the true reason australia won the world cup was because they were overly religious, mind u they belive in issa but being religious rewarded them with the world cup.

so thats my thinking , a true religious coach who can divide equal time between cricket and religion.

There are certain issues to consider whether a foreign coach will succeed or the local coach. Pak is very different from SL or BDesh or India. One reason a team is successful is if it has four bowlers whom the team could depend on wicket taking. This rule applies both in a test series or a ODI series. Aus ensure they have four strike bowlers for every series. Pak traditionally has produced both slow and fast bowlers who have succeeded abroad also. The question authorities must try to answer is why Pak found short of bowlers during the last World cup and how much this event shattered Inzy the captain. After the 2003 World cup, at times we thought Pak is going to have atleast four match winning bowlers for 2007 World cup. Akthar, Asif, Razzaq and Rana were proven match winners. Gul and Shabbir were also there. Then there were spinners Afridi and Rehman who too had won matches for Pak. Woolmer must have banked on these bowlers. But how did Pak lose strike bowlers just before the World cup? How can a coach ensure this won't happen again? Look at another angle in this issue. Imran succeeded to forge a combination of strike bowlers in every series. How? He experimented boldly even during 1992 World cup. he never cared about proven talents and always was on the lookout for fresh talent. Will any coach dare to do this which was the cornerstone for Pak success? Unfortunately the Aussie style of using proven talent for major tournament (which Woolmer tried ) falied in Pak.

Then the other issue of opener. There also Imran gave enocuragement for anyone to be opener. But during the last few yrs what was going on musical chair for the proven openers. Is the new coach going to see all these issues? and the biggest question is: Pak has immense talents. Will any coach work out so that Pak is not going to underutilize their talent?

Dav Whatmore is possibly the right man for Pakistan at the moment. He has coached a poor or below par Bangladesh side, and a par for course Sri Lankan side to varying degrees of success. Sri Lanka have had in that time, one great bowler in Murali, and a few top class one day batsmen, the retired Aravinda DeSilva being the best of the lot. Bangladesh have had nobody to speak of. Pakistan, at this time is a lot like Sri Lanka i.e, nothing to shout home about. A fit again Shoaib and Asif can hide our batting deficiencies for only so long.Wasim and Waqar did the same, to a lesser extent, during the 90's, although Pakistan's batting line up was a lot better with Sohail, Anwar, Inzi, a waning Miandad (early 90's), and that crooked, flat track bully Saleem Malik, all capable of winning games. Whatmore knows all about devising strategies for average sides and with the Pakistan team, he has just that. However, why do I get the feeling that we are about to hire a tired old mercenary?

Lawson was an Australian tearaway for a short stint and maybe one needs a quickie as coach to inspire, encourage, and maybe select some new tearaways. Woolmer's reign saw a plethora of trundlers. These bowlers will never win us games consistently, with the sole exception of Asif. With our dismal batting line-up, Pakistan's chances of winning rest on our ability to consistently produce out-and-out fast bowlers.

For that reason alone, I suspect Aquib might have been the best choice. He knows the talent available and, to boot, has coached the Under-19's to a World Cup victory. There can be a tendency, unfortunately for local coaches, to become embroiled in team politics. Aquib was a hot-head in his playing days - not necessarily the best characteristic required to handle our own tyros - Akhtar and Afridi readily come to mind. That is not to say we should have a wall flower as coach. At the same time, this Pakistan team is a relatively young side (in years!) and Aquib might have a better chance to gel with a younger team than an older one. Unfortunately it seems that Aquib is not even in the running.

Don't know much about Done. Miandad has had 2 stints at coaching with average success, and Intikhab is now, simply put - a dinosaur. Anyone who starts faulting cricketers on their personal life style away from cricket has no place being a coach.

It's a tough call, but as I have commented before on other blogs - coach-smoach - is the team good enough to win consistently by itself?

P.S. I have read the PCB, in all it's undiluted wisdom, is going to allow overseas players to play in the domestic tournament in order to raise the standard of the game. This is ludicrous. Can anyone imagine Australian, English, and Indian (especially Hindu and Sikh) cricketers ever wanting to play domestic cricket in Pakistan. A reality check is required. Maybe the odd Sri Lankan and a few Bengalis. Talk about raising standards!

I have a better suggestion. Why doesn't the PCB ask the ACB to allow the Pakistan "A" team to compete in the Sheffield Sheild. Any batsmen or bowler who succeeds in that tournament should be an automatic shoo-in for the senior team. Australia might even be receptive to that idea as they want stiffer competition from international teams, and allowing "A" teams to play in the tournament will certainly do that.

Maybe I should apply for the post of PCB Chairman - what do you say Mush?

I think whatmore is not a good choice. Bangladesh really underachieved under him, they did play well in the world cup but some of the problems that he was never able to fix with them are exactly the problemsw that pakistan has, such as lack of consistency especialy with the batting. And this was despite him having a lot more control over the players in bangenladesh ( they put him on a pedestal) than he would have in pakistan. I have the pleasure of watching him very closely when he came to pakistan in 1995 when sri lanka toured, and the success of that team had a lot more to do with duleep mendis, who was the manager at that time than dav whatmore.

Dav is a proven guy, hugely experienced with the sub-continent culture. I don't see any problem in his initial preference for India over Pak. I think if he gets the job, he'll now work harder to show India did a mistake by ignoring him.

I think we should stop looking for foriegn to clean our mess. We need a very good infrastucture at lower lever beacuse it is easier to fix things at an earlier stage. we dont have honest opinion about anything. we take things on daily basis we are dreamer not visioner.
we need seminar, sessions and lecture from those foriegn coaches but for coaching we need some local player who knows the strenght and weakness of our player.
It is now become a trend to hire such people who does not criticize the PCB.
Everywhere in the world they hire engineer, doctors, journalist in their organization if they know the business language.
How many player in our team can get benefit from a foriegn coach who cant convey his idea. It is not fault of anyone if message is not conveyed in right context.
But who cares just keep reapeating the mistakes ...

Thank you MR Abbasi for your initiative to start this debate of new coach, i think if we make our bowling lot better we will be able to do better, go for G Lawson make aval all street fast bowlers available to him and ask him to coach them to throw faST & straight nothing more & you will succeed& carry the day .Let the cat be out now PCB is making all out efforts to bring life into new team.GOOD LUCK PAKISTANI CRICKETERS,The NATION lovesyou donot disappoint us.

Kamran Sahib,

I was expecting that you weigh your weight on Dav Whatmore, but I do not agree with you merely because I would like to have any foreign coaches if we have to groom. We have a very good coach around, he is dynamic, young and very cultured, sofrt spoken and got international experience and it is high time to support him. He is Mr. Aquib Javed. He was the best performer. He was the member of the World Cup Winner and whatelse you want. He is a qualified coach. If we have appointed young captain, yound VC and then it is turn for the young coach. Aquib Javed is young and I would like to stick to my decision. Only domestic coach can be beneficial and not foreign coach. Please please Kamran Sahib, think twice before writing about the foreign coaches. At the end, coaches could not win matches only players. Coach can guide them and could not play, if this has happened that what was the role of Intikhab Alam during the time of Imran Khan. Come on please appoint Aquib Javed and a national coach, he was a coach of world cup winner of 19 and he could be asset for Pakistan Cricket, in my opinion "Lambe race ka Ghoda hai".

Whatmore (hands down) is the best choice. However, Pakistan has been long declared a "lost cause". That cannot change. This renders this discussion pretty much pointless.

Strange comment Inzi Fan "but being religious rewarded them with the world cup"
Australians generally aren't religious and we've won the last three!
How do you explain that??

i've got a different option really as everybody saying about dav, lawson or richard i believe we want a "desi" coach and one name unanimously comes in our mind and that is " Javed A Khan" yes due to his extreme cricketing knowledge and brain he could rule the team as he does on this blog as well.
so, thats the bottom line and iam sure no one 'd disagree with me........!

With the PCB's current focus on youth (appointing Shoaib Malik as captain being the case in point) I think the Pakistan cricket team needs someone who can nurture their current crop of players.

Dav Whatmore's is an expert when it comes to taking a young team and turning them into world beaters. In both his past assignments (with Sri Lanka and with Bangladesh) he has taken a team which had a great amount of talent but no experience and converted them to a world-class,professional and a competitive unit.

In conclusion, Dav Whatmore is exactly what Pakistan needs at this stage. The PCB would be making a catastrophic error if they decide to not hire him.

There is no way Dave should be PAk Coach simply because he wanted to coach india. everyone knows he prefferd india to Pakistan and has comeover to PAkistan simply because he was rejected. IF both PAk and India were willing to hire him he would have picked india....thats why he should not be appointed. Geoff lawson looks a good prospect because he is a fast bowler and he can help our talented generation of fast bowlers. this does not mean that he is ignorant to batting or fielding...he is quite experienced in coaching and he probably wouldnt need an extra bowling coach like bob woolmer.

I guess there are pros and cons of hiring a foreign coach.

He does not take part in politics, bu then the language barrier is quite a hindrance.

I support Dav becuase he has a proven record of helping Asian teams improve. Remember the pre-1996 Sri Lanka, or take the steady development of Bangladesh.

He has the credentials.

Whatmore do we need? “I am agree with you NOT”.

I don’t agree with the notion that Pakistan is definitely set to hire him even though he is (or has now)going to meet Nasim Ashraf soon. Pakistan was his 2nd choice anyway. He only became interested after a rejection from India. Not much wrong with that as whenever you go for a new job you have a 1st and a 2nd choice. But isn’t PCB’s criteria to hire a low profile coach? I presume that meant the one who hasn’t had a stint as an international coach.

I much rather prefer Geoff Lawson. Other than his credentials and the Australian psyche, something about this bloke, whether it’s his looks, comments he made or whatever, tells me he is the one for us. It’s like when you see or meet a person there is something within you tells you that you can relate to that person. It’s that kind of feeling. Choice would definitely be between Lawson and Whatmore. By looking at his comments, Lawson seems to have got some kind of rapport with Shoab Akhtar which can’t be said of many in the past.

My prediction is Lawson.

Someone mentioned earlier, it makes no sense to hire a bowling coach. Not necessarily. At this level it’s not just a coach that you need to teach you just how to play a correct cover drive without giving a catch in the gully, for example. Anyone selected at this level should know how to bat. What you really need is a mentor and a motivator with the added advantage of cricketing nous, no matter whether a bowling or a batting type. Only PCB can tell which one of the three interviewees was better at this. The biggest flaw in our team is, without doubt, mental strength. This is one area a coach needs to concentrate on. The current Australian team has abundance of it. The notable Pakistanis who really did have the mental strength were players such as Imran, Miandad and Wasim Akram in that order. The rest are all lacking at this.
We have always had batting coaches. Perhaps this time it should be different.

khansahab

I don’t believe Butt has been rewarded with vice captaincy because of his recent good showing. As mentioned in my previous thread, amongst the current crop of players he is perhaps the most competent to communicate in English (other than Shoab Akhtar but never sure he is in or out) with the imminent appointment of a foreign coach. Definitely not because he is an automatic choice for an opener.

inzi fan

Mullah Omar would do nicely as he made Taliban world beaters ;-)

I think Inzi Fan's talking a load of nonsense. "A true religious coach who can divide equal time between cricket and religion?" A cricket coach should focus on cricket and nothing else, and let his personal religious beliefs be separate. And that stuff about Australia winnig because we were overly religious is nonsense too- they won because they focused all their energies on playing instead of preaching.

According to a leading Pakistani newspaper, there is a “revolt like situation” within the Pakistani team, heralded by Shahid Afridi, over the appointment of Salman “Bhatt” as new VC. I knew Afridi is passionate about power but in this case I will support his stance as I think it is unfair to promote Salman unless it is done with the view of hoping the new responsibility makes him work harder on his batting skill.

According to a Pakistani news channel, Lawson is most likely to be appointed coach. Someone stated that Pakistan’s key strength is bowling and that is why having Lawson as bowling coach is desirable. If you consider the two best teams of the current age, South Africa and Australia, you will see that they are almost equally strong in their bowling and batting. You can’t be a top team unless you are equally strong in all your departments. Some people may think that with the departure of Warne and McGrath, a void is left in the Australian bowling attack. While this is true, I think the problem is only temporary because their youngsters like Mitchell, Bracken and Tait are performing as well as can be expected.
That is why as far as Pakistani bowling attack is concerned I would support a specialist bowler in place of Razzaq because Pakistan has the specialist batsmen and all rounders who can take the team 225 in a ODI match but with the frequent absence of Shoaib Akhtar and erratic form of Sami, we at times find it difficult to defend decent scores. Too much reliance is placed on Gul and Asif but they can’t work magic in every match.

Muhammad AsAf has said that the role of coach is overrated and we need to build our domestic structure to produce results. Unfortunately the domestic structure cannot be built overnight. When we won the WC in 1992 our domestic structure was worse than it is now. England’s domestic structure is amongst the best in the world but they are not a top team. They are lions in their backyard but sissies when they play abroad.
I “am agree” that the domestic structure can help you to produce mature and consistent players but Pakistani cricket has always worked with raw talent and not maturity. The coach however is still needed to monitor and improve fitness, improve player discipline and we always need someone who can try their best to work on key weaknesses. Shoaib MalAk improved as a batsman under Woolmer and so did YousAf and YounAs. Umar Gul and Rao also seemed to improve under Woolmer.

Umer Bin Bashar commented that he hopes the players learn some English. Sir, for the sake of the success of Pakistani team I think it’s more feasible if Lawson or Whatmore learn Punjabi. The players cannot learn but the coaches are more enlightened, bright and have a greater I.Q and greater learning capacity, hailing from more refined backgrounds.

The Major who trained the players in Abbottabad said that Shoaib Akhtar needs to lose weight and improve his fitness. How can the world’s fastest bowler be one of the most unfit players in the world? This makes him a laughing stock and it makes Pakistan a laughing stock too. Imagine how many matches Shoaib could have won for us if he had maintained his fitness more. Brett Lee is so much more fit than Shoaib and so is Sami. Shoaib Akhtar has many fans in the world but what he lacks is respect. He only plays for himself and his problem is that he actually has no qualification to seek a well paying job anywhere. Whenever he needs money he “regains his fitness” and when he is comfortable with his finances he gains weight and becomes unfit. He has stated that he always wanted to the fastest bowler in the world and ever since he achieved that tag his fitness level has become increasingly appalling.

Dav Whatmore is a brilliant coach. Glory with Sri Lanka, and respectful giant killers with Bangladesh, besides having played test cricket for Australia. He was not 'rejected' by India but by some senior Indian test players who wanted a docile "yes" man who would dance according to their tune. Thats why names like embruery were suggested. Pakistan need a coach who understands the teams Asian aspects and culture, as does India. Pakistan has always being a major force in cricket and deserve to be right on top again with Whatmore.

NO FOREIGN COACH.
PLEASE NO FOREIGH COACH.
I can't understand what has happened to us.the only World Cup success we had was without any FOREIGN coach except Intekhab Alam who was more of a Manager rather than a coach.
I agree with Imran Khan that coach can't bat,bowel or field for u in the field.so whats the need for creating all this hype over coach.
Cricket is a very simple game.its not a rocket science.for a successful team u only need a bunch of thoroughly professional players who plays up to their full potential.Australian team is the best at the moment because they are simply following this rule.U don't need to import guys from Australia for that.even I have rendered this advice for free.
get out of the Inferiority complexes and set examples yourself rather than following others.
NO FOREIGN COACH as we must not forget that we recently had a nightmare of experience in the shape of the death of Bob Woolmer.the whole ENGLISH and WESTERN MEDIA was up for our blood and were portraying us as the sole responsible for the world problems.
Are we looking for another Controversy in future of the same magnitude??
God forbid if tomorow that FOREIGN COACH develop a Diahrrea or Cough or for that matter get Sun Stroke than the whole Pakistan and Muslims all over the globe will be held responsible for that and we will see the same episode repeated again.
my request to Australian candidates is that PLZ refuse this job as we Pakistanis want peace of mind.I won't make this request to PCB because they are a bunch of fools who will never learn from their past mistakes.

@ Inzi fan

you are pathetic.

Good day Kamran. It's a pleasure to involve myself in Pakistan Cricket through UR Blog. Being a Bangladeshi, before my country was a part of world legue, I followed and suported the 3 subcontinent teams. Not because of religion, nor being the common border country just because of sheer snobishness, superiority compelex and extremely self centeredness, both in terms of monitary and media monopoly, I doubt, how many neutral supporters Indian team will get, even still they are not inviting us to play in India, for a self proclaimed financial loss. I had a great lough when the BCCI had a kick on their ass from Ford.

Let's talk about today's topic, the next coach of Pakistan. I can safely challenge that, I know Pakistan for that matter subcontinent, cricket even more than many of the official of the 2 main boards. To me the ONLY person who could coach in India and Pakistan will DEFINITELY NOT a Countryman. These India, Pakistani past players grew up in Bombay-Delhi, North-South, East-West, Lahore-Karachi, Sindh-Punjab tussle and I am the last person to be convinced that they'll be able to raise their moral above their past lerning. It's only a foreign coach and specially not Javed for Pakistan. As a 13 years old boy I still can remember Javed hitting Sharma for a SIX, his 77 NO at WACA, brilliant rear gaurd at Auckland, but he is a poor, very poor man manager. Hardly been a deciplained dressing room man and also Javed was more of an self cultured batsman defining some of the techniques by himself, doubt how it could be implimented to individuals. I also disliked his tendency to steal the credit himself for a win and pointing individuals for a loss. Javed can helf PCB in another capacity but not as a coach.

It's great to see finally that, PCB has opted for an Aussie Coach. The Pakis do play cricket in Aussie mentality, attacking, positive and pro-active, which was cnever evident during Inzamam's regime and that costed the team. I often found Paki players restrained them-self when not required and often let them into desparate wholes. They need a positive, attacking coach, must be an Aussie and not a English County Pro earning his meat by maintaining seasonal averages, who would encourage the players for playing their natural game.

Among the 3 coaches my choice is Done, surprisingly, I guess. Dones have been working with developing cricketers Pakistan being the U19 Champs for the last 2 editions, there must be enough engradient for him to groome. A national coach should be more of a strategy developer and guide to younger boys. As a high performence coach, he has been doing that. Also this is a stepping stone for Done, a fresh start and ideas.

Lawson is a great bowler, but I feel, for Pakistan Fastbowlers, it should be a Pakistani bowling assistant, for that you know, none better the Pakis, when it comes to guide young bowlers with swing both version. Sarf did it to Imran, to Wasim to Waquar to Shoheb to Asif. The legacey should go on. I feel with Dones, a local batting coach, may be Shohaib, Mudassar or any one and a bowling assitant, Aaquib or Waquar, Wasim I guess is not interested.

The best likely candidate seemed to be Dav, but I really am upset with the last few days of his professionalism. Still India not finding a Coach, there might be a chance that, they will encourage someone of their interest to buy out contracts regardless of the situation of his current employer.

Nevertheless, my choice will be Done, Lawson followed by Dav and Javed in any capacity at NCA.

M Mahboob Hossain, Shuvro
Dhaka