Swansong: Whatmore wants a resounding farewell

Pakistan head coach hopes to end an ‘overall satisfying’ tenure on high note.

KARACHI:

Dav Whatmore’s chequered run as the head coach of Pakistan will come to a close at the end of the ‘home’ series against Sri Lanka in the UAE next month.

Many have described the stint of the highly reputed coach with the national team as nothing more than a failure.

However, in an interview with The Express Tribune on the eve of Pakistan Twenty20 squad’s departure to the UAE, Whatmore sounded a relieved man as he geared up to embark on his last tour for the mercurial team.



The former Australia Test player viewed his term as ‘satisfactory’.

“I am very satisfied,” said the coach when asked about his run with the national team that commenced with the Asia Cup win in Bangladesh last year.

“The Pakistan team is a wonderful side comprising some very good players. I enjoyed their company a lot.”

Before Whatmore was appointed, the team had whitewashed England in a three-match Test series in the UAE.

The successful run in the longest format of the game ended under Whatmore, with Pakistan failing to win even one of the four series he coached the team in. Even lowly Zimbabwe succeeded in winning a Test against their formidable opponents for the first time in 15 years.

“Yes, there were setbacks but I will define the results under me as overall satisfying.

“The most relieving feeling for me is that I continued to give a 100% and gave all my efforts as the coach.”

Whatmore, who saw Sri Lanka lift the 1996 World Cup under his coaching, added that he is leaving the team with some memorable triumphs which he will cherish for a long time.

“The victories that came against strong oppositions and in tough situations will remain in my memory. The memorable ones are the Asia Cup triumph (2012), and the One-Day International (ODI) series wins against India and against South Africa.”

Whatmore eyes Sri Lanka scalp

Meanwhile, the head coach expressed the desire of winning against Sri Lanka in all the three formats in the UAE.

“It will be a fantastic farewell for me and I am looking forward to the series. My first bilateral series was against Sri Lanka in which the results were not in our favour. I will love to see my team reversing the results in my last series.”

“The team is confident after a good tour of South Africa, but this series will be a whole new challenge [against Sri Lanka] for which the team will have to work hard.”

Pakistan will play two Twenty20s, five ODIs and three Tests against Sri Lanka from December 11 to January 16 after featuring in a one-off T20 match against Afghanistan on December 8.

The experienced coach also hoped for a bright future for the youngsters who showed promise on the South African safari.

“Pakistan have got some good talent which is depicting a promising future,” he said, before refusing to take credit for discovering the new blood. “I was just a part of the team that found them.”

Whatmore concluded by saying that more than thinking about the future, currently his focus was solely on the Sri Lanka series.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2013.

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