KARACHI, June 20: Dav Whatmore, the last of the three Australian candidates short-listed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the post of national coach, is scheduled to be interviewed in Lahore on Thursday.

The 53-year-old Whatmore, the two-time former coach of Sri Lanka and more recently Bangladesh, was expected to arrive in Lahore late Wednesday, according to Zakir Khan, the PCB Director Cricket Operations.

The ICC High Performance Manager Richard Done and ex-Test fast bowler Geoff Lawson were earlier interviewed by the PCB for the same post.

Zakir, who is on the three-member committee alongside Mudassar Nazar (Director National Cricket Academy) and Imtiaz Ahmed, told Dawn that after the interview at the PCB headquarters, Whatmore will travel to Abbottabad where the national squad is currently attending a conditioning camp.

“Like Done and Lawson earlier, Whatmore will also visit the Pakistan team camp in Abbottabad where he’ll meet the players. He will also be meeting the PCB chairman (Dr Nasim Ashraf),” Zakir said.

The tough-looking Whatmore, a Colombo-born former Australian Test batsman who is renowned for his no-nonsense approach, was surprisingly overlooked by India to fill the breach left by Greg Chappell after the World Cup.

Judging by Whatmore’s impressive credentials, he remains PCB’s top choice to become Pakistan’s second high-profile foreign coach following the untimely demise of Bob Woolmer during the World Cup three months ago.

But Zakir was quick to point out that the ultimate decision will not be made in haste.

“To my mind, all three of them stand excellent chance of becoming Pakistan coach. But we are not going to reach a decision until the appropriate time,” Zakir remarked.

“I can’t give the exact date regarding the appointment. We are considering all options to suit our requirements. The panel will submit a summary of the interviews we had with all three candidates to the (PCB) chairman who will make the final call in consultation with the ad hoc committee, ” he added.

When asked to comment on Javed Miandad’s statement that Lawson didn’t apply for the position when it was advertised by the PCB on its website, Zakir retorted that it was the cricket board’s prerogative to invite anyone it wished.

“In fact, the PCB invited them over to present their case because we felt that they had the suitable qualifications to become Pakistan coach. After all, we have to consider what’s best for our cricketers,” he explained.

Under Whatmore’s guidance Sri Lanka won the 1996 World Cup while Bangladesh astounded many by reaching Super Eight stage of the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies as arch-rivals Pakistan and India were both eliminated after the first round.

Woolmer, who also coached South Africa from 1994 to 1999, died of a heart attack the day after Pakistan’s stunning defeat against minnows Ireland in Kingston on March 17.

The late Englishman signed a three-year contract with Pakistan in June 2004. His contract was reportedly worth £80,000 per annum plus additional bonuses (such as £50,000 if Pakistan had maintained a yearly position of four and above in ICC Test and ODI rankings).

In addition, Woolmer was supposed to earn a further £30,000 if Pakistan had qualified for the semi-finals of the recent World Cup; £50,000 had the team reached final and £80,000 if Pakistan had won the trophy itself.

On completion of the three-year contract, which would have ended on June 30, Woolmer stood to earn another £40,000 as discretionary bonus. Sadly, none of the above ambitions reached fruition in the end.