The entire Pakistani cricket fraternity pays tribute to the late coach, Bob Woolmer. Woolmer passed away under mysterious circumstances three years ago during the World Cup in Jamaica. The Pakistani coach was found dead after Pakistan faced a shocking defeat to Ireland.
After Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room, speculations started doing rounds about a conspiracy to kill him and the entire Pakistani team was under suspect. An intense investigation followed after which it was proved that the coach died of natural causes. A former leg-spinner for Pakistan, Mushtaq Ahmed said about Woolmer, “What happened was tragic. Bob’s death came as a big shock for all of us even before we could recover from the defeat to Ireland.” Inzamam-ul-Haq was the Pakistani skipper at the World Cup says that the time of Woolmer’s death was the worst times of his life, “We were treated like murder suspects and all sorts of accusations were made without anyone realizing how close the players were to Woolmer.” He further added, “We worked as a team with Woolmer and there is no doubt that he was one of the best coaches I have seen in my career.”
Today Woolmer is remembered as an excellent human being as well as one who has left a strong impact on cricket in Pakistan. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released a statement to the media on his third death anniversary on 18th March, 2010, “Woolmer’s progressive coaching methods made a huge impact on the game of cricket. He was a distinguished cricketer and coach whose contributions to the game and especially Pakistan cricket will never be forgotten. More importantly Woolmer was an excellent human being who enriched the lives of all those that he came in contact with. He is and will always be missed. The entire Pakistan cricket community’s thoughts and prayers are with the Woolmer family.”
Woolmer had also coached the South African cricket team for five years. The PCB appointed Geoff Lawson, a former Australian cricketer as a replacement for Woolmer in 2007. However, Lawson could never attain the respect and honor that was reserved for Woolmer. In honor of Woolmer, the PCB has erected an indoor stadium at the National Cricket Academy and dedicated it to their former coach. The indoor stadium was inaugurated in October 2007 by South African and Pakistani players.
Three years later, Pakistan is again on the front covers of newspapers and in the news headlines for charges against match fixing. The team recently lost a T20 match, all five one-day matches and three test matches on a tour to Australia. Former skipper, Younus Khan was the closest to Woolmer and is presently banned for an indefinite period from international matches. Another player banned indefinitely is Mohammad Yousuf, who is also a former captain for the national team. Others who have taken the blow include Umer Akmal and his brother Kamran Akmal and veteran Shahid Afridi, all of whom have been heavily fined.