Whatmore set to return as Lanka coach

COLOMBO, JUNE 23: Sri Lanka, which had hoped to retain the cricket World Cup for the second time running but was ignominiously booted out...

COLOMBO, JUNE 23: Sri Lanka, which had hoped to retain the cricket World Cup for the second time running but was ignominiously booted out in the first round matches, has sent out a dramatic SOS to former coach Dave Whatmore.

A spokesman for the Board of Cricket Control for Sri Lanka (BCCSL) confirmed that Whatmore, widely credited for fashioning Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup triumph, had been approached to return as coach to the national team.

Currently coaching Lancashire, Whatmore abruptly threw up his job with Sri Lanka shortly after it won the 1996 title reportedly due to differences with senior team members. “We are in discussions with Whatmore. He has expressed a serious interest in returning to Sri Lanka as coach, but it is subject to his contractual agreements with Lancashire,” the spokesman said.

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Newspapers here reported that an official of the interim committee running BCCSL for the duration of a court trial involving Board officials elected this March, had already struck a deal with Whatmorein England.

PTI ADDS: Whatmore, who lifted Sri Lanka into a fighting unit ahead of the 1996 World Cup, left following differences with Arjuna Ranatunga, who expressed his opposition to hiring foreign coaches.

The Aussie’s return is seen here as a major setback to Ranatunga, who is under fire to quit his post following his his team’s abysmal performance.