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Journalism of Courage
Ireland’s South African coach Adrian Birrell has spent enough time with Bob Woolmer to understand the impact he had on the modern game. Birrell worked with Woolmer when he was the South African coach and was his student at a couple of Level 4 coaching courses. Birrell gets emotional when he talks about the last conversation he had with him as a rival coach a day before he died.
Talking to Sandeep Dwivedi in Kingston, Birrell explains Woolmer’s contribution in rediscovering the sweep shot and making it a part of his strategy.
Over to Adrian Birrell:
“Just after the game against Pakistan, we went to Ocho Rios. I was spending the day on the beach when I heard he had been taken to the hospital. Half-an-hour later they came to tell me that he was no more.
“It was shocking. Just after the game we had this memorable conversation. Bob was very gracious and gave huge credit to us. I told him we were lucky to win the toss, and he replied: ‘Well, even if we had batted second we would lost, because we batted so bad.’
“He said that we actually played better cricket. No excuses. I didn’t notice anything untoward, he seemed fine. Obviously he was very upset, but fine otherwise.
“My association with Bob started when he was the South African coach. I had a lot to do with him since I was in the system as coach of Eastern Province. He also conducted coaching courses that I was on. I did a Level 4 in South Africa and he conducted the batting module there. Similarly, last year when I did a Level 4 in England, he conducted a batting module there too. I had quite a lot to do with him over the years.
“He was a teacher both on and off the field. He had a life-long love affair with cricket. I never heard Bob speak about anything else but cricket. It was his life. He went around the world as his family lived in South Africa.
“He often talked about strategy, specifically about innovations. He loved this other way of doing things. He was a great innovation thinker. And little things, like bringing the sweep back into the game. While he was coach of South Africa, they went into all sorts of sweeps. I think the reverse sweep, though they were played before, along with the laps, the slog sweeps and all that is pretty much part of what he has brought into cricket. Everyone does it now, and I know people did it before Woolmer, but he used it as a strategy.”
