It's just not cricket

Words WORTH

In a book about the 2007 World Cup, an affectionate account of an encounter with Bob Woolmer

Author Boria Majumdar, a sports (but mainly cricket) historian and aficionado, says that the 2007 cricket World Cup in the West Indies was a disappointment and a turning point for international cricket "" not just for India, whose team came home early. Among the many topics Majumdar discusses is the death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer. In this extract, he recalls an earlier encounter with Woolmer in England.

It is a norm to celebrate dead men. Tributes have flown from people the world over since 18 March 2007. Suddenly the world woke up to celebrate how good a coach Bob Woolmer was. Needless to say, these were the usual mundane versions of celebrity obituaries. 'He was the most innovative coach, he was the best cricket brain of modern times, he was the most tech savvy modern coach and he was the pillar of the South African success at the turn of the century' were statements going around the cricket world. The interesting thing was that all of the above were true. However, none of them helped to capture the real Bob Woolmer. A man who over a drink at the Kings Arms Pub in Oxford could lament that his participation in the Packer circus was a mistake, it had robbed him of several good years of international cricket.

It all happened rather strangely. After a hard days [sic] work at the Indian Institute Library, I was walking back to my college, St Johns. The pub, for those who haven't been to Oxford, is bang opposite the Indian Institute. Soon after I had stepped out of the library, I spotted a very familiar figure sitting outside the pub on one of the many wooden benches with a beer mug in front of him. To be candid, I don't exactly remember what he was drinking. But what I do remember is that I was trying to convince myself that the man sitting in front of me was one of the best cricket coaches of our time. The quintessential Indian in me went around the library to try and figure out if he truly was Bob Woolmer. Finally, I walked up to him and asked: 'Are you Bob Woolmer?' He looked at me with a wry grin on his face and said, 'I have been following you for the last ten minutes. You needn't have gone round and round to find out who I was. I would rather have come up straight and asked what you just asked. Why don't you sit and have a drink with me?'

The first five minutes was the most amazing rapid-fire cricket quiz I have been involved in. Questions were tossed at me in a flurry and having answered them to his satisfaction, I had made a mark. He was convinced that I was a serious and a passionate cricket fan, one who was worthy enough of a proper cricket conversation. More, I was credible enough to spoil a leisurely Oxford afternoon bathed in sunshine.

When I asked him whether he considered the Hansie Cronje earpiece affair blatant cheating, he came up with another wry grin. 'I am a professional cricket coach. It is on you and your team to point out that you don't agree to it. The moment the umpires objected I stopped it. But I did not find any harm in trying the method.' My second question was the inevitable one. 'Did he consider the defeat to Australia in the 1999 World Cup semi-final the worst in his life?' Woolmer dispatched the yorker for a straight six. 'Look, the world knows and we know that the South African team was the best team on show in England in 1999. What happened to us was an accident and one that adds to the charm of the game. We take heart from the fact that Australia, arguably the best team in the world, was always on the back foot and literally sneaked their way out of a hole in that game. Sore point yes, but not one that I would keep cribbing over.' He then went on to explain his philosophy on cricket. 'Cricket is a scientific game you see. It depends on field placings, timing, the length of the ball, the weight of the bat etc. No game is as dependant [sic] on science as cricket is. And science, as you know, looks to eliminate risk all the time. My philosophy is derived out of this principle. It is simple. Why hit sixes and fours when singles can do the job. Take a single every ball and you have 300 at the end of the innings. That's what I call risk free total cricket.' He was insistent that Cronje, pre-fixing days, was the best cricket captain he had seen and also a gem of a person. 'He was a victim of circumstances. Anyone who has known Hansie would agree that he was an honourable man', was his straight assessment.

As the conversation went on, Woolmer grew more and more nostalgic. And I could see the real Woolmer coming out. When I asked him his favourite cricket moment, it took him a mere five seconds to come up with an answer. 'I had the courage to bat eight hours against Australia to save the game for England. That, incidentally, was also my first Test century,' he went on to say. In the meantime, we had both ordered another drink each and finished of [sic] some packets of crisps. 'Take care of your health my friend...' he advised affectionately. 'Someone doing a Ph.D on cricket should at least be fit.' It was the second time I had heard this comment, the first being from my Rhodes interview board.

My final question brought out the best answer from him. 'Would you ever consider coaching India?' I had asked. 'Coaching teams from the subcontinent is the best challenge for any cricket coach...' was the immediate retort. Unfortunately, it was the pressure of this high profile job that took him away from cricket. That afternoon at the Kings Arms with Woolmer will always be special to me.

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Corridors of Uncertainty World Cup 2007 & Beyond
Author Boria Majumdar
Publisher HarperCollins
Pages 230
Price Rs 295