MUMBAI, 20 July 2007 — What more could he have done to land a coaching assignment in the subcontinent?

It indeed must be heart-breaking for seasoned coach Dav Whatmore to find himself being turned down a third time on his attempt to get off the merry-go-round.

This time it was Pakistan which rejected him in the same way that India had dumped him earlier, after showing some interest in him.

Despite having done a great job of taking Bangladesh to round of eight in the last World Cup, the minnows suddenly lost interest in him because the burly coach had, even during the mega event, openly set his sights on the coaching assignment with the Indian team.

He tried to hard-sell himself and when the BCCI top brass visited Bangladesh during the Test series, he was given hopes, with one of the Indian officials proclaiming that the job was as good as his, awaiting a stamp of approval. As it turned out, he was not even called for an interview.

Two of the ex-cricketers in the special committee did not think much of him. The Pakistan board at least gave him a decent hearing before showing its preference for another Australian, Geoff Lawson.

Lawson’s appointment as the coach of the Pakistan team for the next two years has already set off a great debate in cricket circles, with three former captains, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas and Intikhab Alam, coming down heavily on the choice. All three have managed the Pakistan team in the past and they should know what they are talking about.

Lawson, one of the tallest fast bowlers to ever play Test cricket, cannot be said to have any tall claims on coaching of international sides. He was only a bowler with hardly any pretensions to batting.

There is no denying the fact that Pakistan have a quality pace attack and Lawson may, only may, be of some assistance to this department. But, it is Pakistan’s batting that has been problematic.

It might be said that the previous Pakistan coach, Bob Woolmer, too was a bowler.

But the difference must end there, for the South African was one of the finest coaches because of his tremendous grasp of the game all round.

As such, it won’t be easy for Lawson to prove himself. Already people at home are asking for a guarantee of a measure of success.