Bob Woolmer (1948-2007)

Bob Woolmer, born in Kanpur India made his test debut for England v/s Australia in 1975. He was a right handed batsman and Right arm medium bowler. He had represented England in 19 tests and 6 One Day Internationals. During his brief stint with England he has scored 3 100's and 2 50's in tests with a top score of 149 against Australia. However he was not a sucessfull test player averaging just above 33. He then retired from international cricket and later in 1994 he took over as the coach of South Africa under the captaincy of Hansie Cronje. He was fondly called as "Laptop Coach" for his innovative methods of coaching using lap top. During his tenure South Africa was ranked no 1 team and won almost 75% of the matches. He took South Africa to Semi Finals in the 1999 world cup. In test SouthAfrica won 5 out of 10 test series. Later after failing to make it to the finals in 1999, he resigned and took a break from coaching career. Later in 2004 he took over as the coach of Pakistan and made Pakistan a strong contender for the world cup. But due to lack of support from the Pakistan Cricket Board, he didnt get the team he wanted for the world cup. On March 18th 2007, after Pakistan's shock defeat against world cup debutants Ireland, he was found unconscious in his hotel room. He was then taken to the hospital where he was declared dead. It was a tame end to a great coaching career. May his soul rest in peace.