LONDON, March 20: Late Bob Woolmer never regretted becoming the cricket coach of Pakistan even though he faced difficulties at the different stages of his demanding assignment.

English cricket writer Ivo Tennant in an article appearing in The Times on Tuesday said Woolmer had been charmed by the Pakistani nation. Tennant was working with the former England batsman on a new book.

“It was clear that his respect for Hansie Cronje (former South African captain) never wavered in spite of his involvement in match-fixing, that he erred in returning to Edgbaston and that, for all the sniping he received from Javed Miandad, his predecessor as coach, and for all his trying experiences with Shoaib Akhtar and Inzamam-ul-Haq — and over the ball-tampering rumpus at the Oval last year — he never regretted becoming the coach of Pakistan.

“The country, its culture and its religion fascinated him to the extent that he studied the lore of the land during the many quiet moments he had in Lahore when separated from his family in South Africa.”

Woolmer, wrote Tennant, would ask himself from time to time why he had taken the job when he would have been better remunerated coaching and living in the counties he knew well from his playing days in England.

“I felt I could see the game and coaching in a completely different light. He could sense a further attraction when he met the people, good-mannered and friendly, and even driving around the streets of Lahore and Karachi.

At the age of 56, he believed that he could not turn down a role in which he could challenge their primacy and, besides, Woolmer liked the Pakistan players.

According to Tennant, while concerned about the all-pervading influence of the madrassas, Woolmer studied the Quran to understand the team that much better. Although he felt that they were too inclined to believe tales of black magic and superstitions, he valued the discipline that religion imposed, that there was no drinking and hence no need for curfews.—Agencies