Tuesday, 20th March 2007 at 10:31 am

The world mourns Bob Woolmer

Two days on, and it’s still completely surreal: Pakistan lose sensationally to Ireland in one of cricket’s more outrageous upsets, and less than 24 hours later, with his team knocked out of the World Cup, Bob Woolmer is found dead in his hotel room. With cause of death still uncertain, theories aplenty are floating round the internet; the more dignified copy, however, takes the form of tribute, with cricket figures across the planet paying tribute to a man with an imaginative approach to a game he loved, and understood better than most.

Mickey Arthur has spoken on Woolmer’s mentorship; Darryl Cullinan has elaborated on just how much the former South African coach (who was at the helm in 1999) did for cricket here; and a devastated Inzamam-ul-Haq, a totally crestfallen figure who has since retired from one-day cricket, has saluted “a good coach and an even better human being”. The cricket world is trying to come to terms with the departure of a man who did so much, so selflessly, for the game - that process won’t end soon.

Certainly, Bob Woolmer will continue to dominate discussion throughout the World Cup, having been such a central figure in the game. But Woolmer was about more than just cricket, and the most poignant tribute to the man comes from a great friend of his, South African cricket journalist Neil Manthorp. Few doubt the cricketing contribution Woolmer made over the years; for a more complete portrait of a generous, big-hearted man, read Manthorp’s farewell - and in the process, appreciate just how much Bob Woolmer will be missed.