Alex Barnett blog : cricket

Bob was murdered.

alexbarnett — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 01:16:00 GMT

I've been following some of the stories surrounding Bob Woolmer's death the last few days, hoping that the rumours I was hearing about had no substance.

The police have now confirmed the worst news possible regarding how Bob died, he was murdered. I'm stunned...and utterly sickened. I'm very, very, very angry, and I'm crying. My heart goes out to his family.

Cricket has lost a true gentleman

alexbarnett — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 04:21:00 GMT

I've just heard the news of Bob Woolmer's death today. This is is tragic news for the cricketing community and am personally very sad to hear this news. My thoughts go out to his family.

Bob was the reason I went to South Africa in 1992 - he put me in touch with a couple of cricket clubs in Cape Town when I was looking for a winter away in the off-season. I spent a lot of time with Bob that Cape Town summer. He invited me along to the nets practice he arranged at the Avendale cricket club along with Ashley Giles, Kieth Piper, Graham Welch, Trevor Penney and Herschelle Gibbs. He was a kind and intelligent man, bringing a creative approach to the game pioneering the use of technology and statistical analysis as an aid to coaching and team management, a real innovator.

Bob was highly respected amongst the players he coached and interacted with. These tributes are a testament to Bob's character as a man and his talents as a coach and entirely consistent with my feelings for him. As Dickie said, the cricket world has lost a true gentleman.

Six sixes in an over

alexbarnett — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 18:40:00 GMT

Herschelle Gibbs has become the first player to hit six sixes in an over in a World Cup game. This CNN video on YouTube talks through the event. The 2007 World Cup is taking place in the West Indies...luckily I'll be over there next month to catch a few games in Barbados.

I had the pleasure of playing alongside Herschelle while I played for Avendale in Cape Town years ago (in 1992 - before he made his debut for South Africa). He was a talented and confident player in those days with a great belief in his own abilities - a nice guy too. He was also a phenomenal rugby player and could have represented South Africa in either sport, but - wisely it seems - he chose the cricket path.

What is 'Six sixes in an over?'

In case you're not familiar with cricket: a 'six' is when the batter hits the ball over the boundary (the playing area) without the ball touching the ground along the way - similar to a homerun in baseball. Hitting a six isn't that unsual. Hitting two one after the other happens from time to time. Hitting three in a row is getting into the realms of unusual.

The 'six sixes' refers to there being six deliveries (or 'pitches' in baseball) in an over, so hitting all six deliveries in an over for 'six', one after the other, is an astounding feat that requires a lot skill obviously, but also requires lots of luck for everything happen just right. Hopefully the video makes more sense now :-)

Thanks to Korby for passing on the news.