DHAKA, Aug 12: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said on Sunday it may not be possible to appoint a new national coach before the tour of New Zealand in December as the appointment process is yet to begin.

Shaun Williams, whose term was extended for the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa recently, could continue as the interim coach.

The new interim board had shortlisted three candidates – Jamie Siddons, John Harmer and former Zimbabwe Test batsman Dave Houghton – for the post but Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu, chairman of the board's cricket operations committee, said that the board was uncertain currently whether more names will be considered.

“I feel that a new national coach is desperately required ahead of the New Zealand trip but I am not sure whether it would be possible or not,” Lipu told the Daily Star.

“We are yet to start the process but I am hopeful that it will be initiated by next week. Within a short time we will discuss the important issue in the working committee.

“Let us start the job first. Only then can I say whether it would be possible for us to add more names in the list. But what I can say is that it is not so easy.”

Williams took over as the interim coach from Dav Whatmore, who resigned after the home series against India.

The BCB informally approached Houghton in June though he admitted he was a little reluctant to take up the offer as his family had relocated to England from Zimbabwe.

Houghton, who also captained Zimbabwe in their early days of Test cricket, quit as coach of Derbyshire the following month.—Agencies