TOP STORY: Shock death stuns W Cup

HAMISH BIDWELL AND REUTERS
In the newspaper business, we fancy our ability to break news. But being the one to tell Central Districts coach Graham Barlow that his friend and former England teammate Bob Woolmer, 58, died this morning was not the sort of assignment you relish.
Woolmer, coach of the Pakistan cricket team playing at the World Cup in the West Indies, died after being found unconscious in his hotel room, following his team's shock defeat to Ireland yesterday.
"Robert Andrew Woolmer has passed away today and the entire Pakistan team and management are shocked and saddened by his passing," team spokesman Parvez Mir said today.
"There will be a coroner's inquest and an autopsy will take place."
Mir added: "Hotel staff found him about 10.30. He had blood on him and there was vomit on the walls."
The news hit Napier man Barlow hard. He requested a few minutes to compose himself before commenting on the man he called "Bobby England".
"Jeez, I was feeling pretty good this morning. Oh, my God. It's the last thing I expected. Gill, his wife, I know, even if I haven't seen her for years. It's a bit of a shock," Barlow said.
"I played against him for years (with English county Middlesex) and we used to abuse the heck out of him. 'Bobby England' we called him and even his Kent teammates started calling him that. He started out with them as a medium- pacer, who batted nine.
"He was a little bit overweight, but he was talented and wasn't afraid to tell you so. That's why we called him 'Bobby England'. I toured with him in the England team for 4 1/2 months in 1976-77 and the boys used to be pretty fearful of going out to dinner with him because you had to listen to him talk himself up all night."
The pair also began their coaching careers together, working with sides in Cape Town. "Like all of us from England, we were pretty anti-apartheid and Bob took it upon himself to go into the coloured townships and try to show the whites that, with the right coaching, the coloureds could play. Years later, when he was the national coach and I was with Eastern Province and then Border, he took me through my level-four coaching certificate."
"I know it's a strange thing to think of, but the logistics of this will be interesting. He coaches Pakistan, he lives in Cape Town, but he's English ... there will be a lot of people wanting to be involved in memorial services."
The former England batsman was made Pakistan coach in June 2004. The job in the cricket-crazy country is considered one of the most pressurised in the sport.