da realbet： Ijaz Butt, the newly-appointed chairman of the PCB, announced yesterday that Geoff Lawson’s contract as Pakistan coach will not be renewed, but Lawson himself has not been told anything by the chairman. Nevertheless, Lawson is getting on in the immediate
Osman Samiuddin21-Oct-2008
Geoff Lawson’s contract as Pakistan coach will not be renewed, though nobody has spoken to him directly © AFP
Ijaz Butt, the newly-appointed chairman of the PCB, announced yesterday that Geoff Lawson’s contract as Pakistan coach will not be renewed, but Lawson himself has not been told anything by the chairman. Nevertheless, Lawson is getting on in the immediate future with”business as usual.”In the two weeks since he was appointed, in fact, Butt has had nocommunication with Lawson at all. Most tellingly, the chairman met withthe captain Shoaib Malik and the temporary chief selector Saleem Jaffar onSaturday but not with Lawson.Unsurprisingly, the development has increased speculation that Lawsonmight leave before his contract finishes, though understandably he wasreluctant to comment on the matter. “I have not had a meeting with orindeed heard a single word from the Chairman since he was appointed,” hetold Cricinfo.”At this stage it is business as usual for all the coaching staff as weprepare for the Pentangular Cup, the West Indies ODI series [in Abu Dhabi]and give players tasks to perform during the Pentangular Cup as we alsobegin preparation for the India Test series in January.”Though Butt said Lawson will leave after April 2009, the original contracthe signed runs up to August 2009. If that is the case, then it meansLawson is likely to be at the helm through the India series in January2009, the Twenty20 World Championships and the tour to Sri Lanka nextsummer. Favourable results in any of those contests would raise questionsabout why the decision to not retain him was taken so early.One senior player also raised the possibility of the changed dynamics ofthe player-coach relationship and its likely effect on the team. “Knowingthat he is leaving will change how players respond to him and deal withhim,” the player told Cricinfo. Maybe they could have taken the decision closer to the time, or told him privately,”Butt was unusually harsh on Lawson’s performance in his comments,concluding ultimately that “we [PCB] have no utility for Lawson.” Thereason cited for keeping him on till April was financial: Butt said theboard would suffer a “huge financial loss” if the contract was terminatedimmediately.