Woolmer's Death Casts Huge Shadow

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Woolmer's death overshadows the tournament.

By Dave Tickner

After the most dramatic, surreal and tragic weekend in World Cup history, it's time to sit back and take stock.

Cricket has lost one of its best coaches and innovators in Bob Woolmer, a man who seems to have literally given his life to the game.

My last memory of the Pakistan coach was watching him neatly and studiously pack away his laptop after the defeat by Ireland, trying to keep the disappointment off his face as Pakistan crashed out of the tournament. The dignity of that moment seems fitting, as does the presence of the computer that became almost an extension of him.

His comments after that defeat were typical of the man, paying tribute to Ireland and calling a day when Bangladesh also beat India a "great day for cricket".

Sunday was not. Two one-sided games were utterly overshadowed, first by the shambolic but undeniably amusing sideshow of England's drunken revelry before the day took a tragic turn as news of Woolmer's death emerged.

It was a strange day to be watching coverage of the tournament.

Reactions to Flintoff's 4am pedalo escapades were wholly predictable; condemnation from Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton, largely incoherent amusement from Michael Slater, and a wry admiring smile from David Gower - who seemed to stop a fraction short of saying 'A pedalo? Not bad Freddie, but it's hardly a Tiger Moth, is it?'

And, most predictably of all, a lengthy and nonsensical backing of Flintoff from his predecessor - in every way - IT Botham.

Botham clearly sees an awful lot of himself in Flintoff, and it's not exactly tricky to see why. But his attempts to defend the indefensible were frankly laughable.

"What were the England fans doing out at 3am?" asked the great man.

Enjoying their holidays, Ian, safe in the knowledge they didn't have a very important job to do the next day.

"Freddie's big mistake," Botham mused, "was getting caught."

Aah. And there was me foolishly thinking his big mistake had been getting drunk shortly after a defeat and the day before a crucial game, commandeering a pedalo, capsizing it in the sea, and having to be rescued by hotel staff.

At this stage, there was an undoubtedly light-hearted air to proceedings. I had assumed reports of the incident had been exaggerated, especially as the News of the World referred to Flintoff's "fellow Ashes hero Ian Bell".

And anyway, I was still chuckling at an off-colour joke that started "Did you hear the one about the dyslexic England vice-captain?"

But the fun stopped when Michael Vaughan appeared after the toss, with the weary face of a man who'd had his day off ruined, to announce that Flintoff had been dropped "for disciplinary reasons".

We would later learn that Freddie had also lost the vice-captaincy of the side, and will surely never captain England again.

Before Sunday, the on-field action had been enough to dominate the headlines, from West Indies' opening-day victory, through Herschelle Gibbs' six sixes in an over to Ireland's St Patrick's Day delight.

But while Flintoff could still come back from his shame - in true Botham tradition - to power England to World Cup glory, the death of one of the game's most-respected figures leaves the innocent joy and excitement of Saturday's thrilling cricket belonging to a lost world.

It's inconceivable that anything else that happens in this tournament from here on could bring it back.