Whatmore on a mission to give more to Sri Lanka
It’s a sunny Wednesday morning, just the way Dav Whatmore likes it. As we walk past the Galle Face Green towards his apartment, heads turn and people smile. ‘Kohomada?’ Whatmore greets a few khaki-clad policemen on the road and is met with the biggest, and perhaps only smile you’ll see from them for the day. The charismatic, straight-talking, stocky coach who is synonymous with Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning glory days of 1996, is really more Sri Lankan than anyone of us can fathom.
“I was born here, you know,” Whatmore tells us as we sit down for a chat. Born Davenell Frederick Whatmore in 1954, in Ceylon, his parents, Davenell Clifford Whatmore and Marjorie Ephraims lived all their lives in this country, (the Ephraims were known for rugby at the Havelocks) until they migrated to Australia in 1962.
Cricket and more: Dav Whatmore. Pic by Athula Devapriya
“It was an amazing part of my life and I had a true Sri Lankan upbringing. It doesn’t matter which part of the world I’m in, because I’ve retained a lot of that culture and domestic habits,” says Whatmore.
His contribution to the country is not simply limited to cricket. Having partnered with the Foundation Supporting a National Trauma Service in Sri Lanka- along with cricketers Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Watson, he will be the face of the fund-raising efforts in aid of setting up an Accident and Emergency Unit at the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital.
“In the past, I have not had the opportunity or time to give back to Sri Lanka, but now I am more than happy to assist my very good friend, Dr. David Young, in this particular project in Batticaloa.”
A renowned orthopaedic surgeon back in Australia, Dr. Young has been supporting Sri Lanka ever since the tsunami struck. The Batticaloa Teaching Hospital Emergency and Accident Project (BEAP) has been in the pipeline for the past two years. Having received Government approval, the hope is that Project BEAP -with a total estimated cost of USD 6 million for both construction and equipment- will near completion in August 2016.
“My personal experience tells me that there are large crowds pouring into the East, with the beautiful beaches and all it has to offer. All that is very important but if you face an accident, where are you going to go to?” Whatmore explains the reasoning behind the project. The people of the East have only the slim chance of being flown down to Colombo in such an instance and it just might be too late.
“Let’s be honest. You only do things if you really want to do it, isn’t it?” Whatmore asks us. “That is the case with Project BEAP. I still have this fire in the belly to be more involved in Sri Lanka, whether it’s helping hospitals, schools or cricket, and I’m thrilled to be a part of this.”
“Being on a trip to Batticaloa has been a real eye-opener to confirm my feeling about being drawn to Sri Lanka. This little jewel has unlimited potential and we must do all in our capacity to help the causes that are crying out for help.”
Schooled at Royal Preparatory, and later at Royal College Primary, Whatmore despite being ‘stuck’ with two sisters who had no interest in cricket whatsoever, had three boys down the lane who would come over to play at his home down Station Road, Wellawatte. This was his first taste of the dogged, improvisational style of backyard cricket that probably had an impression on his resolve later on as a revolutionary coach.
Leaving the country under unavoidable circumstances however, was a bitter experience. “The transition from a Sri Lankan to an Aussie lifestyle was very tough for me as a child,” recalls Whatmore. “There was a lot of prejudice at certain stages, but the only thing that really enabled me to grit through was cricket.”
He shone at school cricket, the Highett Cricket Club, and later the Prahran Cricket Club, Victoria – the place for the big fish. Having performed prolifically in the Sheffield Shield, he made it to the Australian National Team, going on to play seven Test matches for Australia during the Packer era with modest success. He retired in 1988-89 to take up a career in coaching, a momentous decision not just for him but for 19 million Sri Lankans.
He remembers coming back, 33 years ago, on tour with the Melbourne Cavaliers and also on his honeymoon! “My wife Katheryn, would often joke how she is the only woman to have been on a honeymoon with sixteen other guys,” he laughs.
But the most momentous return was in 1995 to take up reins as the national cricket coach. Landing late coming after a “terrible flight”, one step out of the plane and he knew he was back home. “It was a feeling like no other, you know. Waking up to the warm, humid morning and being greeted with string-hoppers for breakfast was fantastic. Oh I was right at home!”
No conversation with the man would be complete without an insight into the 1996 World Cup victory. Whatmore is quick to point out that the famous pinch-hitting strategy was not essentially one of his own, but that of Duleep Mendis. “Let me straighten out the facts first. The idea for the aggression shown at the top of the order, essentially came from Duleep Mendis.” He explains that Mendis’ reasoning behind it was that little Kalu was a sweet hitter of the ball but would often hole out to the deep as he came in when the fielding restrictions were lifted. Opening with Kalu would give the batsman freedom to play his natural game, while Sanath Jayasuriya provided greater momentum at the other end.
“I loved the idea from the word go. Absolutely brilliant, I tell you! Later on, I nurtured this tactic and believe me, never did I ever tell those two to go out there and score at ten an over. In fact, I said look here, you might both be out with the score on zero but that doesn’t matter.”
“Competition is all about mindset,” says Whatmore. “Cricket is played in the head and the better teams are the ones that master the art of maintaining a steady mindset.” Whatmore has since had a second stint in Sri Lanka, been head coach of Bangladesh, Kolkata Knight Riders and most recently the Pakistan national team – with whom he’s overseeing his last assignment.
“It’s the players who make the coach, and not vice versa. I stand firmly on that principle,” says Whatmore. “There are some players who are naturally suited to different formats of the game. Kaushal Silva in my opinion is a great potential for this country as a Test opener, whether he can transform his form into the formats is something only time will tell.” As a coach, Whatmore believes that it is necessary to ask players to retain their individuality and to help rather than mould players.
The man who once helped Sri Lankan cricket ride to the pinnacle of success has set his sights on re-affirming his bonds with the country. “You never know, I just might be interested in playing a part in cricket in the island once again,” smiles Whatmore. “I’ll never say never to this country.”