So Long, Woolmer! Tribute to Legendary Coach
Pakistan Times Special Report

BOB Woolmer, Pakistan cricket team coach, died on Sunday morning in Kingston, Jamaica. He was 58 years of age.

He was considered one of the best cricket coaches of the world. He introduced modern technique and methods in coaching, and was a pioneer in using computer-based analysis.

Robert Andrew Woolmer was born on May 14, 1948 in Kanpur, India. As a right-hand batsman and right-arm medium-pace bowler, Woolmer played for England, Kent, Natal and Western Province. His first-class cricket spanned from 1968 to 1984, during which he played 19 Tests and six ODIs for England.

Bob Woolmer made his Test debut in 1975 at the Lord’s against Australia. Earlier, he played his first ODI in 1972 at Manchester also against Australia.

In his early stage of Test cricket for England, he joined Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket, but on his return he was not included in the national team. Later, he joined the rebel South African tour of 1981-82. However, an injury in 1984 forced him to take a premature retirement from cricket.

In Test cricket, he scored 1,059 runs at an average of 33.09 with three hundreds, all against Australia. His highest score was 149, which he made only in his second Test. Besides, he appeared in six ODIs. He took four Test and nine ODI wickets. He was named one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year in 1976.

His coaching career started in 1991 at Warwickshire till 1994, when he was appointed as coach of South Africa for two upcoming World Cups, in which South Africans showed highly impressive performances, especially in 1999. Later, he left the job when South Africa failed to win the 1999 World Cup semi-final against Australia to make their way for the final at Lord's.

In 2001, he joined the ICC as high performance manager. Later in June 2004, he signed a coaching contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to take charge of Pakistan’s national team up to the 2007 World Cup.

Recap

Pakistan Cricket coach Bob Woolmer died in hospital on Sunday after being found unconscious in his hotel room, says the team management.

Bob was rushed to hospital in the emergency ward when he was found unconscious in his hotel room.

"Bob Woolmer died in hospital," a team spokesman told reporters.

His family and wife were informed by the Pakistan team management about Bob's condition when he was brought to hospital, the spokesman said.

It was earlier reported that Bob Woolmer was found at 15:45 GMT on the floor of his hotel room unconscious and with signs of vomiting.

An ambulance took him to the Kingston University Hospital.

Woolmer, who took charge of the Pakistan team in 2004, was seen late on Saturday night, but officials raised the alarm after not seeing him early on Sunday.

When they went to his hotel room, they saw he was unconscious.

Team manager Talat Ali, their South African based trainer Murray Stevenson and assistant manager Asad Mustafa went with Woolmer to the hospital where he was given medical attention.

Bob Woolmer was last seen in public when he addressed the post-match media conference after his team's defeat to Ireland at Sabina Park.

By and large, he talked of the stresses of the coaching job, said a newsman, covering the World Cup Cricket event.

"Doing it internationally, it takes a toll on you - the endless traveling and the non-stop living out of hotels."

His contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board was due to expire on June 30 but it was widely expected he would part company with after the World Cup which is scheduled to finish on April 28.

"I would like to sleep on my future as a coach," Woolmer said in Saturday's post-match news conference.

In his playing career, Woolmer appeared for Kent in the English county championship and played 19 Tests for England.

He has also coached the South African national team.

It should be noted that Pakistan was knocked out of the World Cup on Sunday after a shock three-wicket defeat to Ireland.

An earlier report by BBC said that Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has been rushed to hospital after being found unconscious in his hotel room.

The 58-year-old former South Africa coach, who played for England 1975-81, was discovered at his hotel in Jamaica at 10:45 local time on Sunday.

Pakistan were purged from the World Cup on Saturday after losing by three wickets to minnows Ireland.

Team manager Pervez Mir confirmed: "We have taken him to hospital and he is in an [intense-care] emergency ward."

"We saw him last night but having not seen him early today two of our officers went to his room and with the help of hotel staff entered”, said Mir.

"He was found unconscious there. It is too early to say whether he had suffered a heart attack. We are awaiting medical reports," he said while Bob was being treated by a team of doctors.

There are a number of extenuating circumstances in the last six months that have made coaching Pakistan slightly different to normal sides

Last Interview

Woolmer told BBC Radio Five Live after the Ireland match that he was considering his future in the game.

"My contract runs out on 30 June anyway but I want to sleep on it before I make a decision about my future," he said on Saturday evening.

"I have said I am reluctant to continue in international cricket purely because of all the traveling but I will stay in cricket at a different level.

"But I think the decision has been made for me really. I will talk to the PCB and if they want me to stay until 30 June I will stay, if they want me to go I will go.

"I am not going to break my contract but if the PCB want to get rid of me that is their business."

Pakistan's preparations for the World Cup have been far from ideal, which Woolmer also alluded to.

Following the forfeited Test against England at The Oval last summer, two of their leading fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, were suspended after failing doping tests.

The pair later saw those bans rescinded but missed the World Cup because of injury, something Woolmer admitted had hindered the team.

"There are a number of extenuating circumstances in the last six months that have made coaching Pakistan slightly different to normal sides," he said.

"Those are the things I would have to consider and those things would have to change if I was to continue."

The son of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer says stress could have been responsible for his father's death in Jamaica early this morning.

"We've been speaking to the doctors and they think it is either stress or a heart attack," Woolmer's son Russell told South African radio station 702 from Cape Town.

"There was a lot of stress in his job and it may have been stress that caused it.

"We're all very shocked and we don't know what to do. I've lost an amazing man to me."

Pakistan team spokesman PJ Mir said: "Robert Andrew Woolmer has passed away today and the entire Pakistan team and management are shocked and saddened by his passing."

Woolmer's death came less than 24 hours after he saw his team crash out of the World Cup after a shock three-wicket loss to Ireland at Sabina Park.

It has yet to be confirmed if the India-born coach died in hospital or his hotel room, where Mir said staff discovered Woolmer on the floor at 10:30am local time.

Mir added Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was 'totally shocked and bewildered' with the news.

"I had a very good chat with him and he was thinking about doing a number of things for Pakistan cricket. He had a lot of plans and wanted to go back and speak to the chairman."

PJ Mir, Pakistan's media manager, told local TV: "Bob Woolmer has passed away. I am speaking from the hospital and all the team management is also at the hospital.

"Doctors have pronounced Bob Woolmer dead. Bob has passed away and it is very shocking news to all of the team and the team management.

"Bob's family and wife were informed by the management about his condition when he was brought to hospital."

Ironically, he talked of the stresses of the coaching job.

"Doing it internationally, it takes a toll on you - the endless travelling and the non-stop living out of hotels."

Leading cricketing figures have expressed their shock after the death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer at the World Cup in the Caribbean.

The tributes were led by the head of the sport's governing body, International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Malcolm Speed.

"On behalf of the ICC and Bob's thousands and thousands of friends within cricket, I wish to express my very sincere condolences to Mrs Woolmer and the family on Bob's very untimely passing," he told a news conference in St Lucia during England's match with Canada.

Woolmer worked for the ICC as a coach to the minor nations, including Ireland, between 2001 and 2004.

Speed said: "In some ways we could say yesterday's loss when Pakistan lost to Ireland was a great defeat for Bob and the Pakistan team. But for Bob, there is another way of looking at it, it was a great triumph.

"He was a great cricket man."

One of the first to pay tribute was South African team manager Goolam Rajah.

"I was very close to him. I had the greatest respect for him as a man and a coach. We have all got to go but not like this.

"I just spoke to him a few days ago in Trinidad. We held him in the highest regard. He was a wonderful coach and he made a huge difference to South African cricket.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

South African fast bowler Shaun Pollock, a former skipper, said he was stunned by the news.

"My prayers and thoughts are with his family. Bob was a friend and a fantastic coach who had a huge impact on my career," he said.

"He was passionate about the game and always looking for ideas and possible innovations to improve individuals and teams.

"He still had so much to offer the world of cricket and will be sorely missed. I was very fortunate to have played under him for South Africa and Warwickshire."

Former England Test team-mate Dennis Amiss added: "The game has lost a lovely man and a top coach."

Fact-file

Factfile on Bob Woolmer who died here on Sunday after being found unconscious on the floor of his hotel room at the World Cup:

Full Name: Robert Andrew Woolmer

Date of birth: 14 May 1948

Place of birth: Kanpur, India

Batting Style: Right-hand bat

Bowling Style: Right-arm medium

Teams: England, Kent, Natal, Western Province

Test Debut: Against Australia at Lord's on 31-07-1975

ODI Debut: Against Australia at Old Trafford on 24-08-1972

International career details: Tests: 19 Runs: 1,059 Highest score: 149 Average: 33.09 100s: 3 Wickets: 4 ODIs: 6 Runs: 21 Highest score: 9Average: 5.25 100s: 0 Wickets: 9

Coaching Career

1991: Appointed Director of Coaching at Warwickshire CCC.

1993: Warwickshire wins the NatWest Trophy.

1994: Warwickshire win 3 out of 4 trophies and are runners up in the NatWest series. Appointed coach of South Africa.

1999: Leaves South Africa job after team fails to make World Cup final

2001: Joins ICC as High Performance Manager.

2004: Appointed coach of Pakistan.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today paid tribute to Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, who died under mysterious circumstances in Kingston, Jamaica on Sunday.

Leading the tributes on behalf of the world cricket body, ICC President Percy Sonn said he knew Woolmer for many years and it was difficult to think of a man who was more committed to the betterment of the sport than him and added that he would be sorely missed.

"He (Woolmer) combined a detailed technical knowledge of the game with a free-thinking approach and he was always one prepared to push the envelope and experiment to see if things could be done better," Sonn said.

"Bob was an outstanding human being who loved the game and always tried to instill that love and passion for our great sport into anyone he came into contact with. He will be sorely missed," he added.

He went on to say that Woolmer was a passionate advocate of spreading the game as widely as possible and giving every one of the ICC members whatever building blocks they needed to be the best they could be.

"From an ICC perspective, we owe Bob a huge debt of thanks as he played a pivotal role in the development of cricket below ICC Full Member level as the organisation's first High Performance Manager (HPM)," he said.

He termed the continuing growth and improving standards of play among the top associates in the past few years as a "fitting tribute" to Woolmer's work for the ICC.

Woolmer began his role as ICC HPM in October 2001 on an 18-month contract, working with the four Associate sides set to take part in the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup, Canada, Kenya, Namibia and the Netherlands.

He was so successful that he continued in his role after the tournament with two more countries, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates, added to the mix and he helped to put together the first-class tournament for the top Associates, the ICC Intercontinental Cup.

"That tournament began in 2004, just before Bob left to take up the job of Pakistan coach, and there is no doubt it has played a key role in improving standards among the second tier of cricketing nations," added Sonn.●