Bob Woolmer

Robert Andrew Woolmer ( born May 14, 1948 in Kanpur, India, † 18 March 2007 in Kingston, Jamaica ) was an English cricketer and coach.

Life

Robert Woolmer, known as Bob, was the son of a British businessman, who played first-class cricket. He was a "right -handed batsman " ( batsman ) and played from 1968 to 1984 as a professional for the county team from Kent and 1975-1981 for the national team of England. He played in 19 Test matches and 6 One Day Internationals. His results were there highly variable, so that he had no safe place in the national team.

As a coach, he worked with great success on three continents. From 1994 to 1999 Woolmer coached the South African team. In 2004 he took over the Pakistani national team, after working in the meantime for the International Cricket Council. With Pakistan He recently took part in the Cricket World Cup 2007, where the team was eliminated prematurely after a defeat against minnows Ireland.

Death

On 18 March 2007 he was found unconscious in his room in a hotel in Kingston and taken to a hospital. There only his death could not be determined. After his death rumors persist that he was a diabetic, have been rejected by his wife, according to a " Times " article; however, he had complained heart problems before departure. After the autopsy was first reported, Woolmer had been murdered by strangulation, possibly involving several persons known to him. The police heard more than 400 people, and took of all members of the Pakistani Cricket Team fingerprints. The players of the victorious Irish team were allowed to leave only after delivery of DNA samples Jamaica. After months of research by the police and international medical experts a natural cause of death has been determined by the authorities on 12 June 2007, however. Among other things, the original autopsy report of a fractured hyoid bone had proved to be a mistake.

Woolmer was survived by his wife Gillian Hall, with whom he had been married since 1974, and two sons.