Bob Woolmer was that coach you would wish to see coach any team. A novel thinker and performer he was the one who took coaching to greater heights. Who would think of South Africa in the nineties without thinking Bob as part of the team. For he was part of a team and it was team and the performance that was part of the primary objective. He defined something called teamwork in Cricket and took away personal contributions and performances out of the context. Even today to see Cronje, Woolmer, Rhodes and all playing out as a team is a fantastic sight.
The world has sadly lost two of the world's best administrators of the game. One is Hansie Cronje and the second is Bob Woolmer now.
He was a right coach of a wrong team.Had he been the coach of a disciplined team like Sri Lanka or Bangladesh,he would have worked wonders with the team.You cannot coach teams like India and Pakistan,where the player feels they are greater than the game.
RE:Bob Woolmer
by Nirav Oza on Mar 19, 2007 01:38 PM Permalink
Very true I think we as Indians should stop following cricket and start on other sport such as tennis or golf well we are acutally performing well. Anyways my deepest sympathy with Bob Woolmers' family
RE:Bob Woolmer
by Ravindra Rambhatla on Mar 19, 2007 01:28 PM Permalink
You are perfectly right Parag, no body can coach india n pakistan because spirit of the game is already dead and cremated in these 2 countries. Players are unfortunately given more importance than the game.
RE:RE:Bob Woolmer
by on Mar 19, 2007 01:50 PM Permalink
Re : You r true Parag, the game cricket in India n Pakistan which was symbolised as passion with true spirits till 2 decades back now has become profitable apex body whereby the players as well as the executives including its covetted post of President BCCI has become a body with filthy n selfish n self centred objectives. Politics, Esteem, Vested Interests has creeped into the grass roots of this game. Except God no one else can save the pride and spirits of this game atleast in India.
RE:RE:Bob Woolmer
by rahul saini on Mar 19, 2007 01:38 PM Permalink
Yes boss , ur comments are right.May god give him peace.He was not a coach but the fighter .He studied cricket not from book but apply his techniques as well as from mind.
Please accept my as well as Eurostar's deepest condlences .May his soul rest in peace and give his family strenght to come out from tragedy.
I have been very much shocked with the hearing of bob's death.I think coaching an pakistani team is very much tough with all the time around u have to listen to the people & players vows.
Bob, you will be remembered as the best coach around.Under your tenure, the growth of south Africa was phenominal. you work very hard on your coaching. no one can handle laptop like you. we miss you and your laptop.may god bless him.
bob woolmer is the victim of senseless emotions that the supporters diplay for their team. cricket is life for cricketers and they know what they undergo.
please stop getting so emotional on every loss and try to support your team when they need it most.
bob woolmer showed how much the pakistan team"s success meant to him.
he was a true champion.
i salute him and pray he finds the best seat in heaven
CC World Cup 2007 would remain etched in publice memory for a long time to come, no thanks to the untimely passing away of one of cricket's greatest coaches, Bob Woolmer. This should serve as a wake up call to the publice in general and the media in particular to treat cricket as nothing more than an unpredictable game. Over hype by the media leads to irrational expectations among the largely ignorant public in the sub continent. The constant media glare places immense pressure on the players, captain and coach in particular. One may never know what caused the sad and shocking demise of Bob Woolmer, but one can only hope and pray that such a distressing incident does not happen in the field of any sport. On behalf of the Indian people, I convey my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. Rest in peace, Bob Woolmer.
It is a tragedy that cricket should claim a life of a gentleman and a coach. I subscribe to the view that the huge and irrational expectations of cricket fans in the sub-continent only added to the immense pressure that Bob was obviously under. The Media too has to take a share of the blame for creating unreasonable hype. The role of the Media, especially the electronic (TV) in generating unreasonable expectations in the minds of public, few of which even know the game, much less comment upon, cannot be discounted. It is a myth that cricket is a religion in the sub-continent. The only thing that matters to the so-called cricket fans is the national team. Cricket at the domestic level is hardly followed with any interest by the public or the Media. For instance, can you name the 15 who represented your State/province in the National Championship? I bet you cannot. So, forget all this talk about cricket being a religion. We in the sub-continent know nothing about any sport nor do we have the maturity to treat sport as just a recreational activity. In other words, we in the sub-continent are poor losers and worse winners, ones who convert cricketers into Gods and yet, defile them the very next moment. Poor Bob was a victim of such jingoistic following that knows no bounds. I wonder whether the public and the Media will learn anything from this tragedy that is not just of Pakistan's but the entire cricketing world. Amen!
