The Last Words

The bookmakers and many sound judges in the sport think that Australia will win this World Cup. They are the country to beat, but I reckon South Africa are the favourites. I have seen at first hand recently how good they are

Before Pakistan’s World Cup opener against the West Indies

It was our goal to take the two points through but we now will have to do the hard yards… It’s too early to talk about being in tight corners. Let's make sure we remain positive for the rest of the tournament

After losing to the West Indies

We have to deal with the team we have. We are very fluid but most of all we have to make sure that we get our strategies right on the field

On the eve of the Ireland match

I would like to sleep on my future as a coach… It’s what I do best, what I try to do best. Therefore I’m not going to throw away coaching just like that. However, internationally I will give it some thought. Travelling and being involved non-stop in hotels and so on takes its toll

His last press conference, after the loss to Ireland

Full name: Robert Andrew Woolmer

Born: May 14, 1948 in Kanpur

Played for: England, Kent, Natal, Western Province

Right-hand batsman, right-arm medium pacer

Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1976

Career Stats

In Tests

Matches: 19

Innings: 34

Not outs:  2

Runs: 1059

Highest: 149

Average: 33.09

100s:3

50s: 2

Wickets: 4

In ODIs

Matches: 6

Innings: 4

Runs:21

Highest: 9

Average : 5.25

Wickets : 9

Test debut: vs Australia at Lord’s (July 31-Aug. 5, 1975)

Last Test: vs Australia at Lord’s (July 2-7, 1981)

ODI debut: vs Australia in Manchester (Aug. 24, 1972)

Last ODI: vs West Indies at Lord’s (Aug. 28-29, 1976)

First-class span: 1968-1984

Coaching Career

1991 — Appointed director of coaching at Warwickshire CCC

1993 — Helped Warwickshire win the Natwest Trophy

1994 — Helped Warwickshire win three of four trophies and emerge runners-up in the fourth

1994 — Became South Africa coach; pioneered use of computers; helped them reach World Cup semi-final in 1999

2004 — Following a spell as ICC’s high-performance manager, appointed coach of Pakistan in June and was contracted till the 2007 World Cup