ST LUCIA: CRICKET - Unexpected death of former English cricketer and Pakistan Coach Bob Woolmer one day following his team's defeat at the hands of Ireland

Leading cricketing figures expressed their shock on Sunday (March 18) after the death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer. The 58-year-old former test batsman was one of the most respected figures in the world game and it had been suggested he could take over as England coach once his contract expired with Pakistan in June. Woolmer's Pakistan team crashed out of the World Cup less than 24 hours before his death by losing to debutants Ireland at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica. The tributes were led by the head of the sport's governing body, International Cricket Council chief executive Malcolm Speed. "On behalf of the ICC and Bob's thousands and thousands of friends within cricket, I wish to express my very sincere condolences to Mrs Woolmer and the family on Bob's very untimely passing," he told a news conference in St Lucia during England's match with Canada. Woolmer worked for the ICC as a coach to the minor nations, including Ireland, between 2001 and 2004. Speed said: "In some ways we could say yesterday's loss when Pakistan lost to Ireland was a great defeat for Bob and the Pakistan team. But for Bob, there is another way of looking at it, it was a great triumph, because he was the man who started the ICC development programme and one of the countries he coached with great passion was Ireland." "He was a great cricket man," he added. The former England batsman was made coach of Pakistan in June 2004. The job of coaching the national team of the cricket-crazy country is considered one of the most pressurised in the sport. Woolmer, who had a distinguished career as a coach, appeared to take the defeat by Ireland in his stride following the match. Before turning to coaching, Woolmer played 19 tests and six one-dayers for England during the 1970s.

ITN Source | March 19, 2007

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