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Canterbury coach Dave Nosworthy has revealed that Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer regularly received abusive emails, but attempted to answer most of them.
Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica, after Pakistan lost to Ireland and crashed out of the World Cup.
Jamaica police say Woolmer had been strangled and are now conducting a homicide inquiry after earlier describing his death as "suspicious".
Nosworthy, a South African, had regular contact with Woolmer as an emerging cricketer when the Englishman coached South Africa.
They exchanged emails often about games, and Nosworthy's last contact with Woolmer was about 10 days ago, just before the start of the World Cup.
"He was a generous, giving sort of guy. He had a website bobwoolmer.com and could receive about 150 emails a day," Nosworthy told the Press newspaper in Christchurch.
"Some of them were abusive from fanatics in Pakistan telling him how to run the team or which players to pick, but he would reply to them all.
"It might be only a line thanking them for their interest but that was a measure of the character of the man. Many people would just ignore the crank ones," Nosworthy said.
Nosworthy, who has coached Canterbury from last season, spent time with Woolmer when the South African Academy team toured Pakistan two seasons ago.
Nosworthy and Northern Districts coach, Andy Moles, who are on opposing sides in the State Championship final, both have fond memories of Woolmer.
Moles was a player in the Warwickshire county side Woolmer coached.
"We were just saying today how you don't find too many guys in the world like him and how terrible this is," Nosworthy said.
- NZPA
