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Come July 5, it will be a decisive day for Sri Lanka cricket. That's the day when Lancashire county cricket club officials meet to discuss the release of their coach Davenell Whatmore who has been approached by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board's Interim Council.

``Lancashire are aware of the approach made by Sri Lanka to Whatmore to take up the position of head coach at the end of September and the position will be discussed by the general committee on July 5,'' Lancashire's cricket secretary Dave Edmundson was quoted as saying in yesterday's 'Lancashire Evening Telegraph'.

Reports from Old Trafford said that there may even be the possibility that some of the committee members will want Whatmore to leave before the end of the season, although it is hard to see what purpose that would serve. The local newspaper report added that after a difficult first year with Lancashire in 1997, when they were badly hit by injuries to Wasim Akram and skipper Mike Watkinson, Whatmore enjoyed a triumphant 1998 with the county winning the NatWest Trophy and AXA Life League and coming second in the Championship.

The 45-year-old Sri Lankan-born former Australian Test cricketer has already requested Lancashire, for which he is on a two-year contract until September, 2000, to release him to make a return to the Sri Lanka team as its coach.

Whatmore's decision has been a surprise for the Lancashire cricketers, probably except for its overseas player of the season Muttiah Muralitharan, who was a key member of the team which the Australian coach guided to win the World Cup in 1996.

Reports added that Whatmore's decision came as a complete shock to the Lancashire club, although they had already been forced to consider the possibility that Whatmore might leave by his application for the post of England coach.

Whatmore, who played seven Tests for Australia, has asked Lancashire to release him from his contract so that he can return as coach of his native Sri Lanka.

According to 'The Lancashire Daily Telegraph', Whatmore is having mixed feeling on his new move. ``In many ways I will be sad to go. But I am ambitious, and the task of restoring Sri Lanka's fortunes is an exciting one. 'It has all happened very suddenly and apparently stems from very high office in Sri Lanka, where everybody from the president down is determined to re-establish the game there after what happened in the World Cup,'' he was quoted as saying.