Remembering Bob Woolmer... | Cricket - Hindustan Times
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Remembering Bob Woolmer...

PTI | By, Karachi
Mar 19, 2008 02:54 PM IST

One year after his death, while many Pakistani cricketers remember their former coach with fond words, Javed Miandad has other ideas.

Pakistan's former coach Bob Woolmer must have been remembered by many former and current players with fond words on his first death anniversary but his predecessor Javed Miandad preferred to remind that the South African made little contribution to the country's cricket.

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Miandad, who was replaced by Woolmer after a home series defeat to India in mid 2004, said while one always must try to remember a departed soul with good words, the facts must also not be hidden.

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"Woolmer might have been a good human being and I have no doubt about that. But when you talk about his contribution to Pakistan cricket than the bottom line is he didn't leave a very big imprint behind," Miandad told PTI.

"If you look at his tenure he didn't achieve much with our players and the way we went out of the World Cup it was very disappointing. It was sad the way he died. But the fact is his contribution as a coach to Pakistan were not much," he said.

Miandad said it was strange that other local players had done more for Pakistan cricket but the Board did not acknowledge their contribution while talking about how much Woolmer had done for the game in the country.

Woolmer died under mysterious circumstances in a hotel room in Jamaica, just a few hours after the Pakistan team's unexpected elimination at the hands of Ireland in the World Cup.

Another former captain Rashid Latif said Woolmer's death had come as a shock to him.

"I knew him little but he appeared to be a good man. But unfortunately he couldn't translate his reputation as a super coach into good results for the team."

Pakistani players Danish Kaneria, Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Asif, who worked with Woolmer remembered him with fond words.

Kaneria said he still could not get over the nightmare of the time when Pakistan crashed out of the World Cup and next day Woolmer died.

"It was horrible even now when I think about those days I gives me the shivers. We were already depressed by our exit and when we learnt about Bob's death it left us numb. It was a tragedy of the highest order. Worse followed when we were treated murder suspects," said Kaneria, who was a member of the World Cup squad.

Afridi said he admired Woolmer for his cricketing mind.

"He was always working with you on your game. He was a good coach and got along well with the players."

Asif said Woolmer had supported him a lot after his disappointing Test debut in early 2005 in Australia.

"He was a good backer of good players and understood cricket and players psyche. Unfortunately, he could not go out on a happy note."

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