June 16, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 30, 1428

KARACHI, June 15: The names of two more Australians have suddenly gained importance as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is expected to announce the new national coach on Saturday.

Former Australian Test fast bowler Geoff Lawson and his ex-New South Wales Colts new-ball partner Richard Done have been reportedly shortlisted by the PCB hierarchy alongside the high-profile Dave Whatmore, the former coach of Sri Lanka (twice) and Bangladesh, as successor to late Bob Woolmer.

Both Lawson and Done, who succeeded Woolmer as the ICC High Performance Manager in Nov 2004, have already been summoned by the PCB.

According to the reports, the PCB requested Lawson to make himself available soon but he was stranded in his home city of Sydney on Friday after he was unable to obtain a visa from the Pakistan High Commission in Canberra.

Lawson was expected to fly out to Pakistan on Saturday.

“It’s a significant challenge,” Lawson told reporters on Friday about coaching an unpredictable side like Pakistan. “They’re an underachieving team with plenty of talent. I’m flattered I’ve even been invited I suppose. I certainly haven’t been chasing it. At short notice they asked me to come to Islamabad for an interview.”

Now 49, Lawson captured 180 wickets in 46 Tests from 1980 to 1989 before finishing his career as NSW captain and later became state coach.

The 51-year-old Done, who took 21 wickets in 10 first-class matches between 1978-79 and 1985-86, is no stranger to Pakistan. He was here in 2001 as an Australian Cricket Academy senior coach and conducted a series of seminars on coaching.