NEWS

Bob Woolmer fact file

By Rajneesh Gupta
March 19, 2007

Fact file on Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, who died in hospital in Jamaica, on Sunday.

1948: Born in Kanpur, India

1959: As an 11-year-old watched Pakistan batting legend Hanif Mohammed score 499 for Karachi.

1963: Stylish middle-order batsman and right-arm tormentor for the Skinners School 1st XI.

1968: Debut for Kent. The score book says 50 not out.

1970-71: His first experience playing and coaching in South Africa.

1972: One-day international debut for England.

1975: An unlucky break: He is selected for England's first World Cup squad, and managed to break his hand the day before the tournament starts. He did 12th man duties.

1976: Selected as one of Wisden's five cricketers of the year

1977: The Centenary Test in Melbourne and England went on to take the Ashes 3-0. Bob signed for Kerry Packer, and the establishment is not amused.  

1980: Returned to the England side to take on the West Indies, learnt the true meaning of "fast bowling".  

1981: A pair at Trent Bridge against Australia, which effectively ended his international career. But as one door closes another one opens, and by the end of the year he was coaching in Langa and Avendale townships in Cape Town, South Africa.

1984: He retired from first class cricket, and emigrated to South Africa the next year, teaching at high schools and coaching cricket and hockey in disadvantaged areas.

1991: Appointed Director of Coaching at Warwickshire County Club in England.

1993: Warwickshire won the NatWest trophy, and Dermott Reeve perfected the reverse sweep under his tutelage.

1994: Warwickshire won 3 out of 4 trophies and were runners up in the NatWest series. He was appointed coach of South Africa.

1995: He was in the dressing room when Brian Lara scored 501 not out to break Hanif's record. That made him one of very few people to have seen both innings live.

1994-1999: South Africa won 71% of its one-day internationals, and 10 out of 15 Test series under Woolmer.

1999: Left the job after South Africa failed to make the World Cup final.

2001: Joined the ICC as High Performance Manager, working with Namibia among others.

2004: Appointed Pakistan's coach

2007: The Pakistan team crashed out of the World Cup after being shocked by debutants Ireland. Found unconscious in his hotel room in the West Indies and later died in a hospital in Jamaica.

Woolmer's record as a coach:

Tests Mts Won Lost Drawn Won%
South Africa (1994-99) 44 21 9 14 47.72
Pakistan (2004-07) 28 10 11 7 35.71

ODIs Mts Won Lost NR Tied Won%
South Africa 117 83 30 3 1 70.94
Pakistan 69 37 29 3 0 53.62

Rajneesh Gupta
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