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Dav Whatmore travelled south with Lancashire today for one of the last times.

Whatmore and the players set off for Southampton for tomorrow's NatWest Trophy tie against Hampshire in the knowledge that the Old Trafford committee have decided to release their coach at the end of the month.

Whatmore had wanted to stay with Lancashire until the end of the season before taking up a position with Sri Lanka, but the club announced last night that he would be leaving in three weeks.

``Dav has done a great job but his heart has always been close to Sri Lanka,'' said chairman Jack Simmons, who has admitted that he was disappointed when Whatmore accepted the Sri Lankan offer even with more than a year of his Lancashire contract still to run.

Surprisingly, Lancashire have decided not to appoint a caretaker coach to get them through until the end of the season.

Instead they have handed captain John Crawley control of all first team playing matters, and officially appointed 1999 beneficiary Warren Hegg as vice captain.

It's a tall order for Crawley in his first year as skipper, but Simmons added: ``We are confident that John can do it and we will give him every possible support.''

Whatmore will be in charge for a maximum of six more games Championship matches against Glamorgan at Blackpool next week then Hampshire at Southampton, National League fixtures against Warwickshire and Hampshire and possibly two NatWest ties if they beat Hampshire tomorrow. His appointment to succeed David Lloyd, after John Stanworth had taken charge for the 1996 season, must be regarded as a success. After a difficult 1997 season when Wasim Akram and captain Mike Watkinson were badly affected by injury, last year Lancashire won two one-day competitions - the AXA League and the NatWest Trophy - and, more significantly, came second in the Championship.

Whatmore also instigated 12-month contracts for Lancashire players, allowing them to work harder on their fitness during the winter and also encouraging them to look to their future outside the game something which has made him especially popular with the younger players.

Now it is Whatmore who has to look to his future away from Lancashire sooner than he would have wanted. It could make for a tense and awkward few weeks, but Lancashire can't afford any distractions as they aim to progress in the NatWest, stay in touch at the top of the National League - and, most important of all, pull clear of relegation danger in the Championship.

It will also be interesting to see the reaction of Muttiah Muralitharan, who only came to Old Trafford because Whatmore was in charge - although he has confirmed that Whatmore still wants him to return to Lancashire next season.