July 15, 2007	Sunday	Jamadi-us-Sani 29, 1428

KARACHI, July 14: The prolonged suspense over the appointment of a new national cricket coach to succeed the late Bob Woolmer is expected to end when the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) meets here on Monday.

The Australian trio of Dav Whatmore, Geoff Lawson and Richard Done have been shortlisted by the PCB which invited them for interviews and presentations to Lahore last month.

Dr Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chief, will reveal the coach-designate to the media after a meeting of the board’s ad hoc committee.

The PCB advertised the vacant post following the sad demise of Woolmer on March 18 — a day after Pakistan were eliminated from the 2007 World Cup when Ireland pulled off a shock win over them in Kingston, Jamaica.

Woolmer, whose death due to natural causes quashed the earlier fears that he was murdered, was on a three-year contract with Pakistan which was to end on June 30 this year.

As usual, the PCB has resorted to play the wait-and-see game and is unwilling to disclose the name of the likely coach although, according to some reports, it has apparently entered into final negotiations with Lawson the former Test speedster who took 180 wickets in 46 Tests and 88 in 79 One-day Internationals for Australia between 1980 and 1989.

The 49-year-old Lawson, an optometrist by training who is currently working with the Australian state side New South Wales, has been supported by the Pakistan players who found him an amiable and easy person to get along with when he met them briefly during the training-cum-conditioning camp in Abbottabad.

However, the former players have put their weight behind the experienced Whatmore — who played seven Tests in 1979 as a right-handed middle-order batsman and a brilliant slip fieldsman — since they believe his belligerent approach to coaching and man-management will get the best out of the Pakistan side which is traditionally known for its unpredictability.

The 53-year-old Whatmore, who coached Sri Lanka twice and masterminded them to the World Cup title in 1996, quit as Bangladesh coach after guiding them to the Super Eight round of the March/April quadrennial spectacle in the West Indies.

However, the possibility of a surprise announcement cannot be ruled out come Monday since in the recent past, the PCB chief has gone on record to state that he favours a low-profile coach for the national outfit. Hence, the credentials of Done, the ex-head coach of the Queensland Cricket Academy who took over as ICC’s high performance manager in November 2004 after Woolmer became Pakistan coach, have also impressed the PCB hierarchy.

Dr Ahsan Malik, the PCB Director of Communication and Marketing, said on Saturday that Done, 51, is still in contention alongwith Lawson and Whatmore.

“As far as the PCB is concerned, any one of the three candidates could find himself appointed as Pakistan coach two days from now,” he told Dawn. “Richard Done stands an equal chance alongside both Lawson and Whatmore. To us all three are respected figures. Let’s wait and see who gets the nod.”

The new coach, who will be offered a two-year contract, must brace himself for tough beginning as Pakistan prepare for a taxing international season starting with the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa in September. After that Pakistan host South Africa for two Tests and five ODIs before touring India for five ODIs and three Tests against the arch-rivals.

And then after hosting Zimbabwe for five ODIs in January, Pakistan meet world champions Australia, who are due here for three Tests and five ODIs in March and April. The 2007-08 international season ends with Pakistan staging the Asia Cup for the first time next April.

Apart from deciding the new coach, the PCB will also announce the 20 players who will be given central contracts for the July 2007-June 2008 period.

Meanwhile, the newly-formed PCB advisory committee for domestic cricket meets on Sunday to discuss the format for the coming home season. The committee, comprising representatives of nine regions and eight departments, will also discuss ways and means to run club and school cricket.