BOB WOOLMER'S BOOK

 

 

News Agency IANS on Friday revealed that the suspense over the contents of the book, which is widely believed to have led to the murder of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer in the West Indies, is over: it is a coaching manual with a difference.

A report appearing on andhracafe.com, mentions IANS as its source of revelation that Bob's book was just a coaching manual.

This also lays to rest reports that the manuscript of the book - 'Discovering Cricket: The Art and Science of the Game' - was missing from Woolmer's hotel room in Kingston where he was murdered Sunday.

The former England cricketer was Pakistan's coach in the ongoing World Cup. Pakistan crashed out of the tournament after two successive defeats.

An e-mail to IANS from Woolmer's official website said on Friday that a 'Bob Woolmer Trust Fund' has also been created, with the late player's wife Gill, their sons Dale and Russell, former South Africa players Jonty Rhodes, Barry Richards and sports scientist and professor Tim Noakes are members of the trust.

The mail, however, does not say about the second book, his autobiography, that Woolmer was supposedly writing in association with English journalist Ivo Tennant.

It was perhaps in preparation of writing his autobiography that Woolmer had even met Delhi Police Commissioner K.K. Paul to seek details of the Hansie Cronje match-fixing case of 2001.

He was the coach of the South African team when Delhi police taped captain Cronje talking to a bookie over telephone to allegedly fix a one-day international during the tour of India.

Paul confirmed Monday that Woolmer, who was found dead in his hotel room in Kingston, West Indies, had a meeting with him on April 18, 2005, when he was in India as Pakistani team coach.

'He had come to me to discuss the various details of the match-fixing case, and he was given those. He was quite a nice, matter-of-fact and forthcoming person," Paul told IANS on Monday.

The e-mail said that 'Discovering Cricket: The Art and Science of the Game' is a book that has been written over the last five years by Woolmer and Noakes and will become the 'definitive manual on playing and coaching' cricket.

"It is first time that a cricket coach and a sports scientist have combined their experience, insights and wisdom to create the most comprehensive and holistic book on playing and coaching cricket ever,"it said.

"It has a global focus - suitable for players, coaches and cricket fans throughout the world, and especially in developing countries."

The scientific, biomechanical and medical aspects of the game are discussed in detail in the unpublished book, enabling a fuller understanding of the 'how' and 'why' of the game.

"It is user-friendly, lively and accessible, with summaries, plentiful illustrations (photos and diagrams), anecdotes and handy tips from some of the game's greatest players and characters," said the mail.

"The book contains the latest cutting-edge research on the science and medicine of cricket."

The Woolmer fund has been established "to ensure that his legacy is preserved".

One of its aims is: 'To ensure that his legacy and teachings live on through the creation of the Bob Woolmer Cricket Academy (BWCA) that is going to be built outside Nelspruit in the South African Lowveld.'

Another objective is to ensure that the book is published. It confirms that the manuscript is with one of the members of the trust.

The academy will be a non-profit organisation.

One feature of the BWCA is that children from underprivileged communities in South Africa would benefit in both a sporting and academic way.

A right-handed batsman and medium pacer, Kanpur-born Bob Woolmer played 19 Tests and six One-Day Internationals for England in 1970s.

The Jamaica Police is now looking for the man who killed Woolmer.