Remembering Bob

The tragic death of Coach Woolmer has absorbed me over the past 24 hours. It's hard to believe that he's gone. Even though I'd never had any contact with, I felt close to him, mainly because we could relate, in some small way, to his exuberance and expertise in cricket. Not only was he a world renowned cricket coach, but he was the coach of our national team. He was always in the news, with some opinion or the other, and was well-versed technologically. Not a week would go by, without Bob not having an opinion on something or the other. He had his own website, and would answer his questions from fans himself. He was accessible as anything, and that brought us all closer to him.

Ironically, in the end, it was his passion for the sport he loved, that brought about his end. And in no small way is this partly due to the Pakistani public, who were braying for his head after the loss to Ireland. This man personified cricket itself, but it was the ugly side of cricket: the pressures, the stress, the uncouth fans, the commercialization, traveling, and the constant badgering that disturbed him the most. Surely we can learn something from this.

tributes...

Ahmer, Zainub, Zainub again, AB, David Hopps, Osman, BC, Balachandran, Teeth, Shamik, Phoenixtra, Gamecricket, Willow and Leather, King, Amit, Caribean Cricket, JC, Atheist, Voice in Columbo, Kartikeya, Third Umpire, OBA, Taaha