Bob Woolmer; and the Fredalo

IN MEMORY OF BOB WOOLMER

Black armbands are usually personal things. But as of yesterday, all 16 sides at the World Cup were invited to wear one in memory of Bob Woolmer, cricket's supreme internationalist and a man who did not so much command respect as earn it, gently and infectiously.

Woolmer, who died suddenly over the weekend at the age of 58 from causes as yet unknown, coached in England, South Africa and Pakistan, as well as doing unheralded work with the likes of Canada, Kenya, Namibia, the Netherlands, Scotland and the UAE. If anyone deserves a prolonged 171-man salute from the four corners of the cricketing community, it is surely he.

All the tributes to this very model of a modern cricket thinker have emphasised two things: Woolmer was both a good man and an equally good coach with an impressively lateral approach to a sport that has always rewarded innovation. For what it is worth, he was also a journalist's delight. Not everyone will necessarily regard this as an important part of the international cricket coach's brief, but Woolmer was smart enough to see beyond the stereotype of the grasping, untrustworthy hack. He recognised the media's ability to spread the gospel and fed us time and again: sometimes in the most trying circumstances, usually beyond the call of duty, always with enthusiasm.

Yet his media-friendliness had less to do with calculation and almost everything to do with the fact that he simply loved talking about the game. Many people are called cricket-lovers, but in Woolmer's case the description hardly did him justice. No matter that not everyone agreed with all his views. He had too many to make that possible. The point was that he kept airing them, always testing, modifying, experimenting. Debate was cherished.

Back in 2001, I was covering my first county match for another paper. The game was Derbyshire v Warwickshire, and in an attempt to fill my 150-word slot, I went for a stroll round Derby's windswept ground to find someone - anyone - to give me a quote. The first person I bumped into was Woolmer, who was coaching Warwickshire at the time. He invited me into the pavilion for a cup of tea and proceeded to talk for half an hour about his vision for the county championship. In the end, I only had room for a single quote, but I was touched by his generosity and in awe of the breadth of his cricketing perspective.

Five years later I rang him more in hope than expectation in the aftermath of the forfeited Test at The Oval. It was a frantic period for Woolmer, by now the coach of Pakistan, but somehow he found two hours for me, a virtual stranger. I asked him then what he intended to do after the World Cup. He said he had a few options, but was putting everything on hold until the competition was over. At 58, he seemed to have several years left in which to explore them.

He also provided a few insights into his state of mind. They read uncomfortably now. The first - "it feels as if you've got a heavy cloud sitting on you" - was understandable in the circumstances. The second - "I'm old enough to know that this is a depressing period in my life" - sounded more heartfelt and less spur of the moment. The third - "I'm trying to get myself in a situation where I can just enjoy my cricket" - suggested that even Woolmer risked losing his legendary enthusiasm. The months that followed did little to help.

Did the pressures of coaching Pakistan hasten his demise? We will never know for sure, although his son, Russell, has already suggested that stress played a part. Back to the post-Oval interview, and I asked Woolmer what his main emotion was. "One of dismay and almost despair," he replied. "The polarisation of ICC and Pakistan and the positions they're taking are creating a really uneasy feeling, certainly in my stomach. It's a desperate situation." Did the uneasy feeling ever go away? I hope so. Woolmer gave so much to cricket that it would be a sad twist if cricket ultimately took it all away from him. Either way, his is a life to celebrate. Cricket is the poorer without him.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Before the game we said 'Let's make history today.' Well, we made history" - The Netherlands captain Luuk van Troost with a wry take on Herschelle Gibbs's six sixes

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

YES, A COMPETITION!

The Spin is giving away five signed copies of Angus Bell's weird and wonderful new book Slogging the Slavs - A Paranormal Cricket Tour From the Baltic to the Bosphorus. But whoa there! While that might sound like we've one copy for each Spin reader (with a couple of spares left over), to be in with a chance of winning one you need to answer the following question:

· From which eastern European country does Maros Kolpak - of county cricket's Kolpak infamy - hail?

Email your answer by 12 noon on Monday, March 26 to lawrence.booth@guardian.co.uk and you could be reading about one of the maddest, most enterprising cricket tours of all time.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

EXTRAS

There have been several aspects of the Fredalo incident which tickled the Spin, not the least of them the sight of David Gower - a man who was once fined for trying to liven up a tour game in Queensland by swooping over it in a Tiger Moth - analysing Andrew Flintoff's watery escapade on Sky TV with the straightest of faces. Then there was Ian Botham, who reasoned that Flintoff's biggest mistake was to get caught. "Flintoff would not be half the player he is today, and would not have the bravado to express himself on the pitch, if he lived like a goody two-shoes," fumed Beefy in his Mirror column, in no way harking back to his own days as a world-class all-rounder/hellraiser.

In fact the Mirror - a paper that would never dream of jumping to conclusions by publishing misleading photos - seemed more concerned with the behaviour of the group of five players who were out drinking until the small hours at Rumours club in St Lucia to celebrate the fact that they had run New Zealand so close earlier in the day. In text accompanied by photos of Jon Lewis, Jimmy Anderson, Liam Plunkett and Ian Bell (where was Paul Nixon? Sledging the barman?), the following words appeared in quick succession: "shamed", "appalled", "disgraceful", "shocked", "disgraced", "louts", "sickened", "barely stand", "swaying", "leering", "legless", "crawling", "steaming" and "boozing". And that was just to describe their performance in the cricket.

Reaction from Guardian readers on the blogs has been mixed. Those among you who enjoy a pint or 10 every Friday evening can't believe what all the fuss is about. After all, many of you have regularly gone on to represent your country in a World Cup just over 24 hours later without suffering any side-effects. But the majority of you, "sickened" and "appalled" by the recurrence of the phrase "drinking culture" in recent days, believe Fred and co overstepped the mark and demonstrated a "disgraceful" lack of professionalism. The Spin couldn't agree more. Now, time for our 9.30am snifter...

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

WORLD CUP NEWS


· West Indies v Pakistan: Dwayne Smith stars with 32 off 15 balls and 3-36 as the hosts begin with a 54-run win over a listless Pakistan team in Jamaica. Still, Pakistan's next game is against Ireland, isn't it...

· Australia v Scotland: Ricky Ponting hits a century and Brad Hogg takes 24 off the last over as Australia rack up 334 for 6 against the disciplined Scots. Their response is 131 all out, boosted by 51 from Colin Smith.

· Canada v Kenya: The Canada captain, John Davison, calls his side's performance "village and embarrassing" after they go down by seven wickets to a Steve Tikolo-inspired Kenya.

· Ireland v Zimbabwe: Only the third tie in World Cup history after Zimbabwe somehow make a mess of scoring 19 off 39 balls with five wickets in hand. They begin Kevin O'Brien's penultimate over needing nine runs with three wickets left. And they begin Andrew White's last over needing, er, nine runs with one wicket left. Needing to score a single off the last ball to win, Stuart Matsikenyeri misses and the game is tied. Earlier, the Ireland opener Jeremy Bray hits 115 not out in a total of 221 for 9.

· Bermuda v Sri Lanka: A 243-run win for Sri Lanka confirms the critics' worst fears. Upsets just aren't going to happen, are they?

· Netherlands v South Africa: Herschelle Gibbs becomes the first batsman to hit six sixes in an over - off the Dutch leg-spinner Daan van Bunge - in an international match as South Africa bully 353 for 3 in 40 overs (Kallis 128 not out, Gibbs 72 off 40, Boucher 75 not out off 31). The Dutch wilt.

· England v New Zealand: England's middle order fold; New Zealand's don't. A six-wicket win for the Kiwis, and a reminder that the CB Series was another time, another place. Several members of the England team are then fined for a "breach of discipline" later that evening, with the News of the World reporting that Andrew Flintoff had to be rescued from a capsized pedalo at 4 o'clock in the morning.

· Bangladesh v India: The first out-and-out shock of the World Cup as Bangladesh chase down India's 191 with five wickets and nine balls to spare, thanks to half-centuries from the 17-year-old Tamim Iqbal (51 off 53), the 18-year-old Mushfiqur Rahim and the 19-year-old Saqibul Hasan. If India lose to Sri Lanka on Friday, they will be out. The Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar dedicates the result to the memory of his former team-mate Manjural Islam, who was killed last week in a car crash at the age of 22.

· Ireland v Pakistan: Begorrah! Ireland pull off the greatest shock in World Cup history with a three-wicket win over the dismal Pakistanis, who are now out of the competition. Andre Botha returns figures of 8-4-5-2 as Pakistan are bundled out for 132, before Niall O'Brien hits 72 (56 more than his nearest team-mate) to inch Ireland home. It will need an upset or two by Zimbabwe to prevent Ireland reaching the Super Eights now.

· Australia v the Netherlands: Another Group A massacre as Brad Hodge (123 off 89) and Michael Clarke (93 not out off 85) make merry for the Aussies (358 for 5) against the Dutch (129: Brad Hogg 4 for 27).

· Canada v England: Andrew Flintoff is dropped after being found drunk in charge of a pedalo at 4am on Saturday and stripped of the vice-captaincy. Without him, England look pedestrian as they see off Canada by 51 runs.

· Bermuda v India: World Cup history as India become the first side to top 400 in the competition. Virender Sehwag ends his miserable run with 114 off 87 balls, before Yuvraj Singh hits seven sixes in his 83. Folk-hero Dwayne Leverock takes 1 for 96 in 10 overs of 19-stone left-arm spin. Glamorgan's David Hemp provides the sole resistance in reply, making 76 not out in a total of 156. The 257-run margin is an ODI record.

· West Indies v Zimbabwe: A six-wicket win for the Windies takes them through to the Super Eights. Zimbabwe will now need to beat Pakistan tomorrow to make life hard for the Irish.