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Whatmore ready to take challenges
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Visits 58
Visits 58
March 16, 2012
Dav Whatmore, the masterminded of Sri Lanka's famous World Cup win in 1996, and after a brief spell at Lancashire - where he saw them win a one-day double in 1998 is appointed the new chief coach of national cricket team after a long negotiations.

Whatmore, who has previously coached Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, has been linked with the Pakistan coaching job since December last year. Waqar Younis had quit the job after the tour of Zimbabwe in September and Pakistan were due to announce a coach after their tour of Bangladesh. However, the interim coach, Mohsin Khan, continued in the role for the England series. Meanwhile, Whatmore met with the PCB in January and has now been officially given the role of head coach.

Whatmore, who was born in Sri Lanka before emigrating to Australia as a child. A right-handed batsman and brilliant slip fieldsman, he scored prolifically in the Sheffield Shield for Victoria, going onto play seven Test matches for Australia during the Packer era with modest success.

Dav Whatmore signed two-year contracts with the PCB as Pakistan coach appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf with the recommendation of the committee. Zaka said that we wanted the best coaches in the world for my team and I gave the task of finding them to the committee appointed to select a coach and they analysed all the candidates and they have found the best people for our team. I am happy to have Dav Whatmore as a part of our setup and hope they can ensure Pakistan always puts up fighting performances, whether we lose or win."

Whatmore said that he wants to make a good start in the four-nation Asia Cup, following Pakistan's dismal performance against England in the one-dayers.

"The Asia Cup is a very important tournament given the opposition," Whatmore said adding that overall it's a difficult assignment so it is one of the many tests around and it's good to be the part of it and I am looking forward to it."

Pakistan have a poor record in the Asia Cup - winning the title once since the event first took place in 1984, while India have lifted the cup the most times (five), followed by Sri Lanka (four). But the event carries a unique importance due to a high-profile India v Pakistan contest. Pakistan will play their first match against Bangladesh on Sunday and take on Sri Lanka on March 15, before going head-to-head with arch-rivals India on March 18.

Whatmore has toned down the hype, suggesting that the match is similar to the others in the event. "We understand there's an extra bit of interest attached to the fixture against India and it's good for the game, people and for the players but we are treating it as any other match."

Whatmore, the 57-year-old former Australia batsman who coached Sri Lanka to a World Cup title in 1996, took charge on Saturday on a two-year contract, with his first assignment in Dhaka. Pakistan will land in Bangladesh having conceded 4-0 and 2-1 defeats in the one-day and T20 matches against England in the United Arab Emirates last month.

"That was a little bit not in the script and I am sure the team wants to make amends," Whatmore said. "Certainly they had terrific Test series and that was a little bit of a surprise but that's the way it goes some time. We are not looking back and look to put our best foot forward and work on those areas where we can improve and rectify.

"Everyone starts the game at a level playing field. It's important that we are able to focus on what we are capable of doing - respect the opposition but we focus on what we can do - we can't make the opposition do anything different."

Whatmore said his goal was to bring some consistency to the team and do away with the poor performances. "We want to be consistent. We don't want peaks and troughs," Whatmore said. "We want the team to be at a good level for a long period. When we're brilliant there will be peaks, but we want to still perform and win games when we're not brilliant. We want to eliminate the bad performances. But you can't do that by focusing on the result. You have to focus on the process."

Geoff Lawson, the former coach of Pakistan cricket team also write letter to Dav Whatmore said that he should ask Misbah who should be in the team and he will give you players who aren't someone's second cousin's brother's uncle but rather are the most skilled for that position.

Lawson also suggested him that he will find to look at the figures for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy it is usually the pace bowlers who dominate. Occasionally there will be a slow turner; the National Stadium, Karachi, can be either good to bat on or a real haven for the slow bowlers. Generally, up north they produce the stronger, bigger physiques and therefore the faster bowlers.

He also warns Dav to be careful in the traffic. I know the roads are mostly crammed with bicycles, motorbikes, rickshaws and camel carts that move like treacle through a sieve, but those six lanes leading onto the Liberty Market roundabout remind me of Talladega Nights with Will Ferrell sans beard and driving license. Your experience in Colombo traffic will stand you in good stead, but try to get a driver who speaks passable English and isn't a former auto-rickshaw operator.

Former Pakistan captain and coach, Waqar Younis has also backed the appointment of Australian Dav Whatmore as head coach of the national team.

"I think the appointment of Whatmore is a good decision by the Pakistan Cricket Board. He has done wonders previously and did really well with Sri Lanka in 1996. Whatmore understands our culture too, he has a Sri Lankan background of course, yes I think he`s a good appointment and I hope he will do really well," said Waqar.

He said that the current group of Pakistani cricketers would be looking forward to working with Whatmore and putting in the required hard work.

"Whatmore is a strict guy, he`s a tough man. He likes to work really hard and as I said earlier he has done well with other Asian countries. It won`t be an easy ride for the players with Whatmore in charge, but the boys in the squad at the moment are willing to learn and put in the hard work.”

"The players have done well over the past year and a half and worked very hard with me when I was the coach. I`m pretty sure the players will be up for it and looking forward to having the opportunity to work with Whatmore," Waqar said.

Waqar resigned from the position on personal grounds last August and was subsequently replaced on an interim basis by former Pakistan batsman Mohsin Khan. His last series as head coach was the tour of Zimbabwe.

Waqar said he does not see himself taking on the role of a bowling coach with the Pakistan team.

"I left the role of head coach at the PCB due to personal reasons and I don`t see myself working as the bowling coach at this moment in time. No, I`m not really interested in the role at the moment," he said.

Waqar was of the opinion that the decision of whoever gets the role of the bowling coach should be left to Whatmore.

"The PCB have got two guys in from overseas and I think it`s important that the Board should ask Whatmore on who he thinks should be appointed. At the end of the day, Whatmore has to work with the bowling coach and he is running the show, so it`s extremely important that Dav`s input is taken into account by the PCB.

"Whoever is brought in as the bowling coach should be on Whatmore`s recommendation," said Waqar.

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