The world of cricket still misses Bob Woolmer

Bob Woolmer

March 17, 2007 ICC World Cup: Bangladesh and Ireland had turned the world upside down by defeating two of the most lethal teams of world cricket. A spirited Bangladesh unit left India stunned at Trinidad while in Jamaica, Ireland made Saint Patrick’s Day very, very special by knocking Pakistan out of the World Cup with a sensational victory.

March 18, 2007 ICC World Cup: It was almost midnight in Dhaka. The flavour of Bangladesh’s victory had still not faded away. Before going to sleep, I switched on to TV to know whether there was any latest news on cricket or not. But, what I discovered was nothing but a shocker!

Almost every news channel’s ‘Breaking News’ had been: “Bob Woolmer dies in the hotel bathroom.” For a moment, it seemed that the world had stopped for me. Suddenly, my ecstatic mood ebbed away and I was gripped by deeper depressions. Bob Woolmer’s sudden death had jolted my world. A pall of gloom fell over the world cricket!

I was hit by a beamer, but tried to regain all my concentrations to follow every news bulletin. But my mind was cluttered.

Worse were the days that followed after his death. According to the print and electronic media, the Jamaican police had declared that Bob Woolmer was murdered! According to them, either Woolmer had been strangled or poisoned. Inevitably, there was assumed to be a connection with the Ireland result, especially given Pakistan’s past connection to match-fixing.

The Pakistani players fell under suspicions, and the furore spread across the planet, to countries that knew nothing about cricket. There were many contradictory speculations and things turned from ugly to uglier. After months of less-productive speculations, the Jamaican Police came to a conclusion that Woomer’s death had been natural.

As one of Woolmer’s ardent followers, I was not enjoying those speculations regarding his death. People were too much bothered with controversial issues rather than the great man’s contributions towards the game. People kept on unleashing new theories about his death from nowhere and created confusions for nothing.

Were all those necessary during such a tragic time?

While the world was busy with Bob Woolmer’s various death theories, I kept on thinking, how world cricket would be at a loss after his sad demise. For those cricket fans, who had followed cricket in the 90s, Bob Woolmer, alongside Allan Donald, Hansie Cronje and Jonty Rhodes, was a superstar as well. To that generation of fans, Bob Woolmer had been the first ever celebrity coach.

His unique methods about cricket coaching and in depth knowledge about the game were a big hit amongst the cricket followers of the 90s. The cricket followers of the 90s had witnessed how Woolmer transformed South Africa into a champion unit. His injection of technology-based coaching and more indulgence over fielding was highly appreciated during the 90s and still his various ideas are practiced by many.

His toughest assignment had been coaching Pakistan. But slowly and steadily, Pakistan did feel the Woolmer magic. Within a year after Woomer’s takeover as Pakistan’s coach, Pakistan started to dish out consistent results and the year spanning from 2005 to 2006 till the England tour will remain as one of the finest for Pakistan in last decade.

Fans pay tribute to Bob Woolmer

He was instrumental in making Inzamam a thinking captain, he was highly influential in shaping up Younis Khan as a decent cricketer and for a year he stabilized the Pakistani team. But, sadly, in Pakistan cricket, stabilities just become illusions in no time – Bob Woolmer found it tough to move forward amid so much controversy.

As a person, Woolmer was dignified and very friendly in nature. “I had an amazing relationship with him. He was more than just a coach, and he had a way of giving off of himself and it was something I could relate to. That made him more than a coach to me,” Jonty Rhodes’ such a statement indicates Woolmer’s personality.

He was never like a boss towards the players, but a great friend. “He was a friend of all the players. I used to call his wife, Gill, mom so he used to tease her that I am their third son. I know how it feels when you lose your close ones. Bob used to help each and every player and he has left a big void in Pakistan cricket,” said Younis Khan.

His gentle approach had been the key in managing players.

Even amongst the common people he was popular for his friendly nature. He had that unique ability to win hearts. His cheerful demeanour was very popular amongst the common people. Like many superstars, off the screen he was never a moody character but a very humble person.

Bob Woolmer has created a very dynamic impact throughout the world cricket – modernization of cricket coaching is nothing but Woolmer’s contribution.

According to former England captain and Bob Woolmer’s Kent mate Mike Denness: “He was a great lad, a great motivator. He was a bit eccentric at times but it is a terrible loss. I remember going to his house in Cape Town and many years ago he showed me his work room. He had everything on computers even then. This was before the technology was readily available and he showed me how he was going to monitor things and study each player’s performance. He was one of the first to really work on the reverse-sweep shot; he probably worked at it too much. He taught people to go back when they were playing it rather than go forward to give batsmen more room to play and he developed a lot of that.”

“In the same sort of way he too was an allrounder. He could be a batting coach and a bowling coach. Like Jacques Kallis, if you replace him with a batsman, the bowling side is weak, and if you replace him with a bowler, the batting side is weak. Bob had that allround ability as a coach, and that comes with the way I coach as well,” said Jonty Rhodes about his coaching abilities.

If you read his book ‘Art and Science of Cricket’ then you will come to know how he observed and studied the game. Thankfully, I have this book and the more I read it, the more I get amazed. The more my respect increases for this man.

It’s hard to find such creative and adventurous characters these days. His passion for cricket was extreme. He gave his life to cricket and ultimately died for it. The world of cricket still misses Bob Woolmer.