Dav Whatmore surprised with the progress of Nepal in international cricket

Former Australian cricketer and World-Cup winning coach Dav Whatmore said that he is surprised with the way Nepal has made giant strides in international cricket in the recent years. Whatmore who was the coach of Sri Lanka during their World Cup triumph in 1996 was invited to Nepal by the Bat and Ball Foundation which was launched on January 23 by the former coach. “Nepali cricket has surprised a lot of people. The calibre of players here has been much better than what people are thinking. I think I might put my hands up being one of those,” Whatmore was quoted as saying by the Cricwizz.

“The fact that Nepal are playing in the highest rank of the Associates in the World Cricket League is a testament to the level of skill and talent that exist in this country. From that point of view, there is no question about the talent of the boys here in terms of skills. What we need to do is give them more information and opportunity for that skill and talent to grow,” he added.

The highlight of Whatmore’s coaching career will remain the 1996 World Cup triumph with the Sri Lankan team. He also guided Bangladesh to greater heights especially when they were making the giants strides in international cricket. Recalling the 1996 World Cup success, Whatmore said that the Sri Lankan group of players during the Wills World cup really wanted to achieve big and to win the tournament being the overwhelming underdogs deserves special acclaim.

“It was really rewarding to be a part of a group that really wanted to achieve. That group of players [Sri Lankan cricketers] in 1996 was a very talented bunch. We organised them as well as we can and let them go and be themselves. When we went back to Colombo to see the thousands of people lining up in a 30km stretch from airport to the President’s house was something to be seen and to be believed. It’s really hard to describe in words but it’s a pinnacle of my coaching career,” he recalled.

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Whatmore concluded by saying that it was not talent or ability which cut short his international career but it was the lack of mental strength. “Looking back now, I had more talent and more ability than most of the boys then. What I didn’t have was the mental strength. As a youngster who was migrating from Sri Lanka to Australia, there were lot of hurdles. And I just didn’t have enough mental strength. But that really helped me as a coach to understand the pressure that boys go through and what is needed for them to gain more confidence in order to free their minds up and perform well.”