Organisers pull the plug on Woolmer’s memorial tournament

LONDON: Organisers have cancelled the star-studded memorial tournament for former Warwickshire and Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer that was due to be played at Edgbaston at July.

Leading international players from across the world, including former Warwickshire stars Brian Lara, Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock and ex-Pakistan captain Inzamam-ulHaq, were scheduled to play in the quadrangular Twenty20 competition on July 25 to raise funds for a planned academy to be built in South Africa to commemorate the work of Woolmer who died in his hotel bathroom in Jamaica during last year’s World Cup.

It was planned to split the teams into North, South, East and West for a tournament which it was hoped would attract a near-capacity crowd to Edgbaston.

But a failure to secure live television coverage which it was hoped would help attract major sponsors has led to the organisers cancelling the event.

Negotiations with Sky failed because the broadcasters are committed to screening an international between Sri Lanka and India on that date.

Former Kent and England allrounder Woolmer had two spells as Warwickshire coach, the first between 1990 and 1994. The county won English cricket’s first trophy treble in his final season.