Same here, have a tear in my eye just thinking about it and reading all these posts just goes to show what Bob meant to everyone. On that day I was in the park playing cricket in the best form of my life as a batsman, smashing the local villagers all over the park with my drives despite coming in late down the order as the guys older then me would be quick to say they want their batting to come before everyone elses
but they'd be quick to take the walk to the bench of shame, then I'd battle it out after the collapse and end my innings unbeaten on 23* but with no one to hang around with me
The opposing team were also one player short and we had assigned a very talented fast bowler called Mo to get us some food for the interval period and also find a player for the opposing team, Mo was quiet lazy he didn't really make much of an effort to find someone but while he was at Hajees Kebab House Papa Jabar had just finished his shift and Mo asked him would you be interested in having a bat today? he said sure why not! Mo would bring 2 bags of Southern Fried Chicken and Chips but he'd also bring news of Pakistan's pathetic Batting Collapse "The score is 66-5 lads" we were surprised but also very hungry so just casually ate and wrestled each other before the 2nd innings resumed. Papa Jabar would come in at no.5 and smash the bear for 18 runs of his over enroute to helping his team win the game that day and I returned home to find that Pakistan had lost the game.
It wasn't until the evening that I had quiet a few family members come to my house and bring news that Bob Woolmer was no more, cried for a few hours and didn't go to sleep. Then I was so angry I promised myself that I'd never watch or play cricket again, but few years later I was in the library and came across a book "art and science of cricket" it was by Bob Woolmer, I picked it up and was in there hours reading it and admiring how passionate and knowledgeable Bob Woolmer was and I also ripped out the entire chapter on spin bowling and put in my pants before escaping the Library as if I had a $1 million dollars hidden in my chadeez
) which btw helped me get selected in the first XI of a club which played in the prestigious Birmingham Premier League.
It's so sad, what I hate more then anything is when good people suffer.
As Lil Wayne once said and I also find myself asking the same question:
" And I'm grindin' until I'm tired
And you ain't grindin' until you tired
So I'm grinding with my eyes wide
Looking to find,
A way through the day
The life of the night
Dear lord you've take so many of my people
I'm just wondering why you haven't taken my life
Like what the hell am I doing right? "
RIP Bob Woolmer, we will always cherish you.
And in 95 we won 2 out of 4, missed out on the Benson/Hedges Cup and the Sunday League (CB40).
