Monday, April 9, 2007

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Bob Woolmer Murder Case - Was He Really Murdered?

Jamaica Police have ordered a second autopsy in the death of Bob Woolmer. This brings forth many questions. Adnan Ali has presented a detailed analysis of the situation on his The Dosti Show blog.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Pakistan Coach Bob Woolmer Murdered


Deputy Commissioner Shields in Jamaica has declared that the autopsy report on Bob Woolmer makes murder the official line of investigation.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani team has left Kingston after being questioned and fingerprinted. It seems the ordeal has got a second life after today's revelation.
It comes as a shock to every one and the worst fears have come true. It also brings forth a pandora box of questions and the police are now investigating them.
PJ Mir, Pakistan teams Communication Manager said in an interview that Bob had complained about loosing the proofs to a book he was writing. He had asked the team members if some one had seen the package and he was a bit disturbed about that. Its only speculation whether the book was about coaching, or life in Pakistan or it revealed secrets about corruption in the game. One has to say that there is this dark thought that we may be in for further shocks before this mystery is solved.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Bob Woolmer (1948 - 2007) - Obituray

That this talented group of Pakistanis did not make it past the first round in the ICC World Cup 2007 edition, should not eclipse the giant of a man, coach and personality, we knew as Bob Woolmer.

I once met Bob, for mere moments, on the steps of PCB's headquarters at Qaddafi Stadium Lahore. Considering what had happened that day, in hindsight, I found out a lot about this foreigner who had taken the most difficult coaching job in cricket. It was mid-afternoon and I was visiting PCB on business. I saw Bob coming down the stairs, in some hurry and I said 'hi bob' on my way up, he replied with a beaming smile. We went our ways. No sooner I found out that in a news conference days before leaving for ICC Champions Trophy in India, Younus Khan had springed a surprise and refused captaincy during a press conference. Bob was returning from that event when I had seen him.

The coach was a mercurial man. They say no two practice sessions were the same bacause his ethos was that if he could make the game enjoyable for the players, the players would play more freely and naturally. His use of laptops and technology was not just a FAD. He had his method and the results are there for every one to see. He was also a media savvy man and continued to have good relations with not only the media but also with cricket fans through his website.

Bob had ties with the sub continent. Having been born in Kanpur, he understood how Cricket was followed here. He was also a student of various cultures and embraced Pakistan's too. His hospitality extended to his residence in South Africa, where Pakistani players like Shabbir Ahmad, Shoaib Malik and even Dr. Nasim Ashraf stayed during their visits to the country.

In the end, Bob Woolmer wore the green shirt with great pride, and made every effort to enhance our cricketing fortunes. We can not forget when he took over as coach in 2004 and cemented the team for great victories as in India. He was a great scholar of the game, and Cricketing world is lesser without him. Our condolences go out to his family. God bless and Godspeed Bob.