Woolmer
Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
PAKISTAN cricket coach Robert ?Bob? Woolmer, who died yesterday at the age of 58, was a solid batsman for England and Kent whose skills as a coach transformed the modern game.
Pakistan team officials said Woolmer was found unconscious in his room at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel. He was later pronounced dead at the University Hospital of the West Indies.
No cause of death has been given.
Woolmer was at Sabina Park Saturday when Pakistan suffered a shock three-wicket defeat to Ireland. The result meant elimination for Pakistan.
Born in India, Woolmer played 19 Test matches for England, scoring 1,059 runs at an average of 33.09. He had a topscore of 149 versus Australia, against which he made his international debut in 1975.
Clive Lloyd, the former West Indies and Lancashire captain, played for many years in the English County Championship against Woolmer?s Kent.
He described Woolmer as a ?great guy and great friend whose death is a great loss to cricket?.
?It?s a real tragedy,? Lloyd said, shortly after returning from training with the West Indies team.
Kevin Curran, the Zimbabwe cricket coach, also paid tribute to Woolmer.
?It?s obviously very tragic for world cricket, very, very sad,? said Curran.
Woolmer was never recognised as a great batsman during his playing days.
In addition to Kent, he played for Natal and West Province in the Currie Cup, South Africa?s domestic season.
Shortly after South Africa?s re-admission to international cricket in the early 1990s, Woolmer was appointed its coach and is widely credited with making it one of the best in the game.
At different stages, that team included Hansie Cronje, Jonty Rhodes, Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.
Bob Woolmer is survived by wife Jill and two sons.
WOOLMER FACTBOX
(Reuters): Factbox on Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, who died in hospital yesterday in Jamaica.
■ Born: May 14, 1948, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
■ As an all-rounder, played in over 300 first-class matches for Kent, England, Natal and Western Province.
■ Made his test debut for England against Australia at Lord?s in 1975 and played his 19th and last test against Australia, again at Lord?s, in 1981.
■ Had interrupted his Test career by signing for World Series Cricket in 1977, before effectively ending it forever by joining the rebel English South African tour of 1981-82.
■ Voted Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1976.
■ Began his coaching career at Warwickshire before taking charge of South Africa where his pioneering use of computers aided two World Cup campaigns including a semi-final appearance in 1999.
■ Following a spell as the ICC?s high-performance manager, he was appointed coach of Pakistan in June 2004 and was contracted until the 2007 World Cup where Pakistan became the first country to be eliminated after defeat by Ireland on Saturday.
