Woolmer death an all-time low for Pakistan, says Mushtaq

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Mar 20 (Reuters) Mushtaq Ahmed, given the job of replacing Bob Woolmer as coach for the rest of the World Cup, today described his death as the worst thing to happen to Pakistan cricket.

Mushtaq, 36, was promoted from assistant coach following Woolmer's death on Sunday, less than 24 hours after one of the tournament favourites Pakistan lost by three wickets to debutants Ireland and crashed out of the World Cup.

''The loss of Bob Woolmer is the biggest blow in the history of the Pakistan cricket tam,'' Mushtaq told reporters. ''He was a father figure to all of us.'' ''There is a great vacuum because Bob had become part of the family and when you lose a member of the family one only knows how bad it is. It is a very difficult time for all of us.'' The squad trained on Tuesday morning at Sabina Park, a day before their final match against Zimbabwe in Group D They played football for an hour and did not have the usual net practice.

'TOTAL DEPRESSION' It was a way of easing the team back into the routine after the death, said ex-test leg-spinner Mushtaq, who took three wickets in the 1992 World Cup final when Pakistan beat England.

''The boys, and myself in particular, have been in total depression so it (the football) was just a way of coming out (of our hotel rooms) and getting ready for the match.'' Mushtaq has a reputation for being the dressing room comedian but he said even he could not lift the team at this time but they will try to give the match ''their best shot''.

Mushtaq, who will play for English county team Sussex from next month, said he intends to follow Woolmer into full-time coaching and admitted he learned much about the job while working as his deputy.

''I have a lot of passion for the game and it is my desire to be a coach and to give something back to the game from which I have taken a lot out.

''I could spend this whole press conference talking about how much I learned from Bob and it will still not be enough.

''But there are a couple of things that really stand out. Bob was a great man who could forgive so much in spite of anything that happened. He also used to impart knowledge and was also such a good and kind human being.

''Bob was a great motivating factor for us, always trying to bring in new theories to improvise the game of cricket. He, along with Inzamam-ul-Haq, gave such a lot to Pakistan. It's a tremendous loss for us and the rest of the world.'' Final selection will be decided by Inzamam, playing his last one-day international and final game as skipper, and vice-captain Younis Khan. All-rounder Shahid Afridi should return from his four-match ICC ban.

The seven-week World Cup culminates in the final in Barbados on April 28.

REUTERS PDS PM0018