Of the three remaining candidates--and you might reasonably ask what became of Aaqib Javed, Tim Boon, and Javed Miandad?--the man for the job has to be Dav Whatmore. He knows the Australian way but he also knows Asia. He has succeeded with both Sri Lanka (World Cup winners) and Bangladesh (World Cup giant killers) in different ways. He has yet to coach one of Asia's big two but the leap should not be beyond him. Indeed, it is a great time to coach Pakistan with a young captain and young team ready to be shaped into something more substantial.
Dav's the Man from this Australian shortlist, but as usual the PCB has managed to supervise the process in such a way that you wonder how they ruled out some of the other promising candidates? Dav Whatmore, welcome to the whacky world of Pakistan cricket.
Inzamam-ul-Haq, former Pakistan captain, wants to play Test matches for some more time before retiring "in an honourable manner."
Inzamam retired from ODIs after a disastrous World Cup and resigned from the Test captaincy. The PCB is expected to leave out Inzamam from its list of centrally-contracted players, on the basis that he is no longer an ODI player. Further, sounds coming out of the board and selection committee suggest that it may be difficult for Inzamam to find a way back into the team.
"I am not going to play for long but I do want to play a few more Tests as I think I can still contribute to Pakistan cricket," Inzamam said at a function where he was feted for his contribution to the game.
"I don't understand why they (selectors) keep on saying things about my form and fitness. Obviously if I am not fit or not in form I myself will not make myself available for selection," Inzamam said.
"But the selectors should not make such a big issue of these things. I want to play Test matches but honourably and I also want to finally retire in an honourable manner," he added.
Tauqir Zia, the former board chairman, at the same function reminded Inzamam that every player had to go someday, mindful perhaps that few Pakistan players have ever left the game graciously.
"What I would advise Inzamam is to accept whatever the board and selectors decide for him. What they decide, will be in the national interest and their decision must be accepted sportingly by him," Tauqir said.
Inzamam, who has played 119 Tests and 378 One-day Internationals (ODIs) for Pakistan, ruled out reversing his retirement from ODIs and said once a player retired, he should stay retired.
"It is never easy for a professional cricketer, who has represented his country for 17 years, to forget the past and adopt a new lifestyle. But I have taken my decision on one-dayers," he said.
Dav Whatmore arrives in Pakistan on Wednesday hoping to push further his credentials as the next coach of Pakistan. Whatmore will be interviewed by the PCB on Thursday as a potential candidate for the position, the third Australian the board has interviewed this week.
Earlier in the week, Richard Done, the ICC high-performance manager and former New South Wales fast bowler, and Geoff Lawson, former Test cricketer, were also interviewed. Lawson yesterday visited the national team's conditioning camp currently underway in Abbottabad, meeting with senior players and officials.
One of the three will become Pakistan's coach though Zakir Khan, director operations PCB and a member of the three-man committee to find a coach, stressed again the decision will not be taken in haste.
Khan didn't confirm that an appointment will be made by July 1, the date set by chairman Nasim Ashraf, to announce a new coach to succeed the late Bob Woolmer. "It is premature to give an exact date right now. After the interviews of the three, our committee will compile a report and present our choice to the chairman, who will take it to the ad-hoc committee. Only then will a decision be made," Khan told Cricinfo.
The board has been tight-lipped about its preferences from the three in recent days. Khan said that the interviews had gone well and that all three had excellent qualifications. "They were shortlisted because of their qualifications and on the basis of past achievements."
Until recently, Whatmore was understood to be the board's top choice, the only hitch being his interest in the position of India coach. With that now out of the way, the path appears clear for Whatmore to take over. But the board is said to be impressed by Done as well, and he would seemingly fit in with some officials' wishes that the new coach be a low-key personality willing to prove himself internationally with Pakistan.
Meanwhile Javed Miandad, former captain and three-time coach, continued his criticism of the board's policy for selecting a coach by pointing out that Lawson had not officially applied for the position.
Miandad disagreed with the board's decision to publicly advertise the vacancy and invite applications arguing that no coach of substance would apply in such a way. Lawson made clear before arriving in Pakistan that the board had contacted him and not the other way round.
Miandad told Dawn, "Now I ask the PCB: where does it stand? Instead of considering the applications of those candidates who have applied for the post, it is contacting those who did not apply."
Geoff Lawson, the former Australian fast bowler, is a possible candidate to succeed Bob Woolmer as Pakistan's coach and will fly to Islamabad for discussions.
Lawson said he was contacted at short notice about the job and was trying to obtain a visa from the Pakistan high commission in Canberra. He hoped to fly out this weekend "once the paper work has been done".
"It's a significant challenge," Lawson told The Australian about coaching Pakistan. "They're an underachieving team with plenty of talent. I'm flattered I've even been invited I suppose. I certainly haven't been chasing it. At short notice they asked me to come to Islamabad for an interview."
Lawson was among three candidates on Pakistan's shortlist, along with Dav Whatmore and Richard Done, the former New Sotuh Wales fast bowler. Steve Rixon, the former New Zealand coach, told AFP that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) contacted him about the role but he had already made other plans.
Lawson, currently a commentator, took 180 wickets in 46 Tests between 1980 and 1989 before finishing his career as captain of New South Wales and later becoming their coach.
Done replaced Woolmer as the International Cricket Council's high performance manager two and a half years ago, after Woolmer took up the Pakistan job. He played first-class cricket for New South Wales before beginning a successful coaching career in Australia.
The Pakistan board has decided not extend the contracts of trainer Murray Stevenson and physiotherapist Darryn Lifson who had been working as the team's support staff under coach Bob Woolmer.
"We are not extending the contracts of Woolmer's support staff after their tenures finished this month," PCB operations director Zakir Khan told AFP.
Lifson and Stevenson, both from South Africa, were hired on Woolmer's recommendation in 2004. The duo were with the Pakistan team during the World Cup and they returned to South Africa two weeks after Woolmer's death.
Khan said the PCB was assessing its options on hiring a new trainer and a physiotherapist. "We have identified some new people and will hopefully decide before Pakistan's tour to Scotland early next month," said Khan. Pakistan are due play one-off internationals with India and Scotland in Glasgow after which they will head to South Africa for the Twenty20 World Cup in September before visiting India for five ODIs and three Tests.
Pakistan are also due to choose Woolmer's successor later this week
