Former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson has landed the high profile coaching position with the Pakistani team, which would be formally announced on Monday.
KARACHI: Former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson has landed the high profile coaching position with the Pakistani team, which would be formally announced on Monday, Cricket Board sources said on Saturday.
The sources said the Board had started final negotiations to sign a contract with the Australian after deciding against hiring his compatriot candidates -- Dav Whatmore and Richard Done.
"The vote went in favour of Lawson because he is young, has done a good job as New South Wales coach and has been backed by the Pakistani players and manager whole-heartedly," one source told.
"The players wanted Lawson because they found him comfortable to work alongside with and also because he like them has a very positive and aggressive style of coaching," he said.
Lawson's appointment should come as a big blow to Whatmore in particular who recently ended his contract with the Bangladesh team after being with them for nearly five years and before that with the Sri Lankans for two terms.
Whatmore was expected to be the hands on favourite to get the job after the Indian Cricket Board had turned down his application and opted for other candidates last month.
After being rejected by the Indians, Whatmore who was coach when Sri Lanka won the 1996 World Cup, had shown keen interest in taking on the Pakistani challenge.
Infact, after former Sri Lankan skipper, Arjuna Ranatunga apparently advised the Pakistanis during a chance meeting in Scotland to avoid him, a number of Sri Lankan players spoke out in his favour and said he would be an ideal choice for the Pakistan team.
"But the Board has apparently given weightage to the views of the players and their manager and have decided on Lawson," the source said.
Lawson, who is currently associated with the New South Wales team in Australia has played 46 Tests and 79 one-day internationals, last month visited Pakistan and met with Board officials as did the other two candidates.
The PCB committee meets on Monday to formally announce the new coach in place of Bob Woolmer, who died during the World Cup in the West Indies in March.
All the three candidates had met with the Pakistani players during their visits.
Pakistan has had atleast eight different coaches since 1997 and these include those people who have done more than one term as Pakistan coach like Richard Pybus who was coach in the 1999 and 2003 World Cups and Javed Miandad who was thrice coach before being forced to step down in 2004 to make way for Woolmer.
However, there are fears and apprehensions in the Board about the new coach asking for more guarantees in view of fears by political analysts that the security situation in Pakistan could become testing in the wake of the military operation against Islamic militants holed up in the Red Mosque in capital, Islamabad.
A five-member security delegation of the Australian Cricket Board is also due to visit Pakistan from Monday to meet with high-ranking government and security officials and visit venues ahead of tours by their A and Under-19 teams in September-October.
Australia's senior team, led by Ricky Ponting, is also scheduled to play three Tests and five one-day internationals in Pakistan early next year.
Interestingly, the Australians will not be visiting Karachi and a Board official confirmed the Australian 'A' and junior teams had no matches scheduled in the southern port city.
Australia in 2002 had refused to tour Pakistan because of security concerns.
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