Mods, I dnt knw if we r allowed to post any article, But i just thought to share this article
Tributes to Bob Woolmer
'He gave his life to cricket and died for it' - Donald
March 18, 2007
'He was great for the game, he worked hard all his life' - Waqar Younis
The cricket world was shocked to learn of Bob Woolmer's sudden death in Jamaica, a day after Pakistan's early exit from the World Cup. The tributes have started coming in. Here are the early ones:
"The first thing, world cricket has lost a cricket scholar. You can't say much more than that for Bob Woolmer. He was thinking of new ideas all the time and took coaching to the next level. It is pity that he is no more with us, and world cricket will surely miss him."
Fanie de Villiers
"The news was pretty devastating, to be honest. He was a very, very close friend, actually more than as a coach.... He was a very respected man. We were together with Warwickshire and South Africa. Bob was an extremely professional man, was an extremely soft person, gave his life to cricket and probably paid for it."
Allan Donald
"I am shocked and badly hurt. We have lost a good coach and a good person."
Inzamam-ul-Haq
"We are all greatly saddened by Bob Woolmer's passing. He was a great cricket man. His life was devoted to cricket."
Malcolm Speed, chief executive of the ICC
"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."
Former England captain Mike Denness, a teammate of Woolmer's at Kent
"The passing of Bob Woolmer in Jamaica today casts a sad shadow over the 2007 Cricket World Cup . Bob was one of the world's greatest coaches and as a player his innings of 149 lasting more than 8 hours against Lillee and Thomson demonstrated not only how talented a player Bob was but also his pride in wearing the England sweater. But perhaps Bob will be best remembered as one of the world's leading coaches. He embraced innovation and was at the forefront of many new developments in the game..... Everyone at ECB extends our deepest sympathy to Bob's family - we have lost a great friend.'
ECB Chief Executive David Collier
"I was very close to him, and I had the greatest respect for him as a man and a coach. We have all got to go, but not like this. I saw him just two weeks ago in Trinidad. I had the highest regard for him and he made a huge difference to South African cricket. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."
Goolam Raja, South Africa's team manager at the World Cup
"We had a marvelous time together. Can't believe it happened. It happened so quickly. We can't do anything about it... huge tragedy for Pakistan cricket, a huge shock for the nation. Don't think I can take it very well.... Was a lovely man, very understanding..."
Shoaib Akhtar
"He was great for the game, he worked hard all his life. I've played with a lot of coaches, I think when it comes to professionalism, he was the best. He's been a great friend to the players"; On differences with Shoaib: "When you live together for 7-8 months, they're both different characters, you will have differences... But he's gone now, one shouldn't talk about this. He's given a lot to Pakistan cricket, he brought them from nowhere to the top."
Waqar Younis.
"It's a great shock, great tragedy. Didn't know that he was diabetic and had high blood sugar. We had a good relationship with him. He was a thorough professional; he was a wonderful person to work with.... My condolences to his family" -
Wasim Bari
We are extremely grieved at his pasing away. On behalf of the PCB let me say it's a moment of extreme grief for all of us. He met with a heart attack and died in hospital in Jamaica . This is all we know at this moment.... Bob was one of the greatest coaches in Pakistan and in world cricket... "
Amir Bilal, member of Pakistan Cricket Board
"My first tour was to England and we go back many years as cricketers and friends. I valued his company. It's a sad day for the sport and the cricketing fraternity. This is totally unexpected. I knew he was upset and under intense pressure but no-one could have foreseen this. I send my condolences to his family."
Michael Holding
"Our thoughts are with Bob's family. This has come as a huge shock to all of the England team. "He was a figure who commanded great respect within world cricket and he will be sorely missed."
Andrew Walpole, the ECB media manager
"Bob was respected worldwide. He developed into the finest cricket coach in the world. Bob was a very close friend. I am stunned and shocked, I cannot believe it. He was a tremendous professional cricketer and was dedicated to the game. The world will miss him. He did so much for the game. He was well liked and well respected."
Dickie Bird, former Test umpire
comment:
p_commentcount