Inzamam and Malik back Lawson as new Pakistan coach

KARACHI, July 17 (Reuters) Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and his successor Shoaib Malik have welcomed the appointment of Australian Geoff Lawson as coach of the senior team.

''Lawson is a good choice if the players want him because a good working relationship between a coach and players is necessary to get good results,'' Inzamam said today.

Lawson was confirmed as the coach on Monday by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), who chose him over the two other candidates, Dav Whatmore and Richard Done.

The appointment drew criticism from other former captains, including Javed Miandad and Intikhab Alam, who questioned the decision to employee another foreign coach.

Lawson, who will arrive in Pakistan on August 15 to take up his two-year assignment, is the third foreigner to be named as coach after Richard Pybus and Bob Woolmer.

Woolmer, who died of suspected heart failure during the World Cup, also faced a lot of criticism during his three-year tenure.

Inzamam who retired from one-day internationals and relinquished the captaincy during the World Cup after Pakistan's first-round exit in March, backed Lawson.

''There is no doubt we have some great players. I have learnt a lot about batting from Javed Miandad, our former coach. But coaching nowadays is also about man management and foreigners tend to be better at this,'' said Inzamam.

Malik added: ''Lawson is known to be a positive-minded coach and during our short meeting with him in Abbotabad when he came for his interview he impressed us with his ideas and behaviour.'' REUTERS DH HT1918