Lawson says Pakistan can be top team in world

Pakistan's new coach Geoff Lawson is confident his team can become the best in the world. The Australian former fast bowler, who took charge of the senior team on Tuesday, said he saw a lot of talent, skill and enthusiasm among the players.

"They have all the required qualities to become the top side in the world. My main focus would be on improving their fitness and making them a more consistent side," he told a news conference.

Lawson said Pakistan had always been an unpredictable side, a trait that worked both ways. He said unpredictability could be a big advantage if it was used positively and did not become a habit.

Lawson is Pakistan's third foreign coach since 1999 after South African Richard Pybus and Woolmer. He has taken up his new post a day after four top players, former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf, all-rounder Abdul Razzaq and batsman Imran Farhat joined an unofficial Indian Twenty20 league.

"I am happy with the spirit I see in these players. My spirits are also not dampened because of the loss of some of the senior players," said Lawson.

The boards of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have threatened to ban players if they join the Indian Cricket League, which was launched in May.

Lawson joined the training camp set up for the Twenty20 World Cup on Tuesday and had a meeting with the players in which he told them about his future plans for them and his coaching methods.

Geoff Lawson talks on the challenges that lie ahead

Afridi - Something is hurting inside!

In an interview with local and international media at a training camp in Qadafi Stadium, Shahid Afridi once again revealed that he was a contender for the top job in Pakistani team and he could not conceal his disappointment at not getting even the job of skipper's deputy. While talking to the journalists he admitted that he became a contender for captain's position after Younis Khan rejected the offer made to him, because he thought it was in the best interest of the team and he was ready to accept any such offer if it was ever made to him. Too bad, the offer never came his way and Shoaib Malik was chosen instead by the PCB.

"It is great honor to be in Pakistani team and being a captain is even greater honor," he said.

It was quite obvious from Afridi tone and words that after he was overlooked for captain's job, he was hoping to become vice captain but once again he was overlooked by PCB and Salman Butt was chosen out of nowhere.

"Board did the right thing to appoint Shoaib Malik as captain. He is a very talented cricketer and the decision of appointing Salman Butt as vice captain is PCB's so what can I say?"

Well, Mr. Afridi, you could say that it was also the right decision or if not at least you could keep your mouth shut so that people wouldn't try to read between the lines and make you look like a fool.

CHRONOLOGY-Pakistan coaches in the last decade

Australian Geoff Lawson on Monday became Pakistan's 12th appointment as coach in the last decade.

Since 1997 Pakistan have had nine coaches with some, including former captain Javed Miandad and South African Richard Pybus, in charge for more than one term.

Changes have often been triggered by internal politics, heavy defeats and man management issues.

Below is a chronology of the coaches who have worked with the Pakistan team since 1998.

Sept 1998. Javed Miandad replaces Haroon Rasheed.

April 1999: Miandad resigns over differences with the players following a tournament in Sharjah despite a successful tour of India.

Mushtaq Mohammad is brought in as coach two weeks before the World Cup in England where Pakistan reach the final but lose to Australia.

Aug 1999: Mushtaq is replaced after the World Cup defeat with the team facing a government inquiry about match fixing in games lost to Bangladesh and India.

Sept 1999: Wasim Raja is appointed coach.

Nov 1999: South African Richard Pybus is appointed coach for the tour of Australia after serving as assistant coach at the World Cup.

Dec 1999: Intikhab Alam replaces the sacked Pybus after Pakistan are whitewashed by Australia in a test series amid reports of disciplinary issues in the team.

March 2000: Miandad returns to relace Intikhab, who is sacked after a home series defeat by Sri Lanka.

April 2001: Miandad is fired after Pakistan's ill-tempered tour of New Zealand and Pybus is brought back by the board for the tour of England.

Sept 2001: Mudassar Nazar takes over as coach after Pybus does not return to Pakistan due to security concerns following the 9/11 attacks.

Sept 2002: Mudassar is summoned to return home midway through the ICC Champions Trophy. Pybus takes over again.

March 2003: Pybus resigns after Pakistan are knocked out in the first round of the 2003 World Cup. The board turns again to Miandad.

April 2004: Miandad is forced to step down after Pakistan lose tests and one-dayers to arch rivals India at home in a series marred by internal problems in the home camp.

June 2004: Former England player and ICC high performance manager Bob Woolmer becomes coach.

March 2007: Woolmer dies during the World Cup from natural causes one day after Pakistan are shocked by Ireland and tumble out of the tournament.

July 2007: Former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson is named as the new coach -- the third foreigner to get the job.

What happened with Whatmore

While PCB was busy in announcing the decision to appoint Jeff Lawson as new coach of Pakistan for next two years, at least one person was left bewildered at the turn of the events within a short span of time. Dave Whatmore who was the darling of South Asian cricket just a few months back must be wondering what happened to his bid to become Pakistani coach after his name was unceremonuosly scratched out of the list of possible coaches just days before the final decision was announced at a press conference by PCB.

Whatmore has no one else to blame but himself for this snub, after he initially declined to become Pakistani coach rejecting an offer that was made to him by PCB, right after the sad death of Bob Woolmer. Everyone knew by then that Whatmore was eyeing the highly lucrative position of India's coach as Greg Chappel was slowly being pushed out by the Indian Board. He even expressed this desire during the recently concluded World Cup when he was still Bangladeshi coach, for which he received a repremand from the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

What happened afterwards was not what Whatmore could have thought. After his refusal to become Pakistani coach, he was not even selected among the final candidates for the Indian position. At that time too much water had passed under the bridge since PCB had already advertised the position and they were actively looking at all the options. Although Whatmore was still in the mix, he was not the only candidate. He was invited to be interviwed by PCB along with fellows Aussies Jeff Lawson & Richard Done. At that point he was still a leading candidate but then suddenly something happened that tilted the balance against him.

As the rumor have it, Sri Lanka's world cup winning former captain Arjuna Ranatunga had a chance meeting with Pakistan's manager-cum-coach Talat Ali in Scotland where the team had recently gone to play two one-day games. According to reliable sources in the Pakistan team Ranatunga advised Talat and the Pakistani players not to have Whatmore as a coach. According to a source, "Ranatunga during his talks with Talat and some senior players gave them a run down on Whatmore and eventually his advice was to avoid him,” he added, “Ranatunga did admit that Whatmore was coach when Sri Lanka won the 1996 World Cup but said the players had a big credit in this as well,” Rantunga advised them how he had problems with Whatmore when he was Sri Lankan Captain. This advice when looked at coupled with Whatmore's recent performance with Bangladeshi team pretty much convinced PCB that he was not the right man for the job.

Everyone admists that even in his stint with Sri Lanka, it was the single minded determination of then Sri Lankan captain and vice captain, Rantunga and Arvinda Desilva, not the brilliance of Whatmore that won them the world cup. For the first time PCB management which has been knows for its hasty decisions which are often wrong, took a long time to think about a decision and the outcome has been slightly positive in a sense that they at least avoided a person who has nothing to show for in his last few years as a coach of a national team.

Lawson is the new Pakictan Coach

After months of speculations Jeff Lawson has finally been named as new Pakistan coach. It was almost a dead heat between him and Dave Whatmore but in the ned it was Lawson's fast bowling background that won him the final nod. The appointment has been made for a period of two years.

"Pakistan has many pace bowlers and we win matches with them", Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, said. "Having a former fast bowler on board is an advantage for that definitely."

"We weighed all our options and, though all three were highly qualified, we felt Lawson was most suitable to our needs. Dav Whatmore and Richard Done were not any less candidates, just that Lawson was what we needed."

There were rumors in the media that Sri Lanka's ex-captain Arjuna Rantunga played an important role in tilting the bar against Whatmore and in Lawson's favor but PCB chairman dismissed this as inaccurate.

Lawson, a level 3 qualified coach, will arrive in Pakistan on August 15 and is expected to be on a similar financial package as was Woolmer. He is likely to bring his own management support team with him and Ashraf said Pakistan might appoint a specialist batting coach, given their brittleness in that department. "We will definitely have a fielding coach and we want world-class trainers and physiotherapists as well. We want to have a streamlined management team and Lawson has his ideas on that," said Ashraf.

This is Lawson's first international assignment although he has been head coach with Australia's New South Wales team and is currently involved officially with the state.

Miandad slams PCB approach for selection of coach

LAHORE, June 19: While challenging the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) wisdom to interview those who did not apply for the post of Pakistan coach in response to the board’s advertisement, Javed Miandad has pointed out that seeking the regional heads’ confidence in Bhurban by the PCB chief indicates his weakness.

Talking to Dawn on Tuesday, Miandad, an icon in the world of cricket, criticised the PCB Chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf’s move of taking confidence vote from the regional heads by offering them a tour of Bhurban last Saturday.

Question of the Coach

Former Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore was left as the main contender to coach troubled Pakistan after his Australian compatriot Steve Rixon ruled himself out. Pakistan are due to shortlist candidates later this week to replace Bob Woolmer, who died at the World Cup in Jamaica in March prompting a police investigation and controversy. Police this week announced that he died of natural causes, not murder. Rixon, the former New Zealand coach, told AFP from Sydney that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) did contact him about the role but he had already made other plans.

End of the Road for Dave Whatmore

Just a few days ago everything was going good for Dave Whatmore. While on one hand Pakistan Cricket Board was actively pursuing him as a replacement for Bob Woolmer on the other he was pursuing highly coveted and a much more lucrative Indian coach's position. And suddenly in a matter of days, it all came crushing down. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI, on Monday surprisingly ruled him out of contention for the India job during the specially-constituted seven-member meeting.

Aamir Sohail on Miandad as next Pakistani coach

Aamir Sohail today in an interview demanded that Javed Miandad to be immediately made coach of Pakistani coach. He said that Miandad is the best person to lead the young Pakistani team as a coach since he has the best cricketing mind. He mentioned that in 2004 Pakistani team was improving in Miandad's coaching but Woolmer was made a coach which was a huge mistake. He also said that the foreign coach experience for the Pakistani team has previously failed as well since Pakistani cricketers couldn’t speak English.

Its strange to see Aamir Sohail talking so highly of Javed Miandad since during his playing days, he didn’t have such a merry relationship with him, infect he was the Pakistan Captain in Miandad's last match in Pakistan colors against India during the world cup 1996 when he demoted Miandad to no. six position while batting effectively ensuring that he doesn’t play any role in Pakistan's recovery during the match. The match was eventually lost by 39 runs because of that mistake while Miandad was the last recognized batsman out trying to salvage some pride.

Steve Rixon Cautious about Pakistan Role

Although Steve Rixon, the former Australia wicketkeeper and New Zealand coach, has been sounded out as a potential coach of Pakistan but he said that the still unexplained death of Bob Woolmer has left him in doubt whether he wants the job.

Whatmore Remains top of Pakistan's wishlist but he is more inclined to India Job

Dav Whatmore remains top of Pakistan's coaching wishlist as the search to replace the late Bob Woolmer enters its final stages. A three-man board committee has shortlisted 13 names from the many who applied. The names will be discussed at the next ad-hoc committee meeting of the board in mid-June and a final decision is still likely to be made by July 1.