KARACHI: Pakistan’s national team coach Dav Whatmore believes that a strong domestic cricket structure in any country is crucial for a strong national side.

“Having experienced cricket in a variety of countries, I think it is a well-accepted fact that it is hard to produce a strong national team if your domestic structure is weak,” Whatmore said while talking to PakPassion.net.

The former Australian player said that a strong domestic structure helps identify and bring in good players into the national team.

“The jump from domestic cricket to international cricket is quite a big one. You only have to look at any of the lower ranked ICC full member nations to see that perhaps what would help push them up the rankings is a stronger domestic structure, which would in turn, feed stronger players into the national setup.”

He added that the transition from the domestic structure to the national team has to be smooth for the players and is only possible if the domestic structure is strong.

“Finally, it is also very important to ensure that once players are identified, they are constantly engaged in a “High Performance” environment. Now, more so than ever, it is vital to make a players transition between U19, ‘A’ Team and National Team as fluid as possible; all supported by a strong domestic structure.”