Bob Woolmer was the most highly regarded coach in international cricket. An all-rounder in his youth good enough to have been signed by Kerry Packer to play in his breakaway World Series in the 1970s, he had the rare distinction of being in charge of two countries, South Africa and Pakistan, as well as having been the first choice of the England and Wales Cricket Board ahead of Duncan Fletcher in 1999. His enthusiasm for the game never wavered.

Woolmer would probably have become the England coach but for being approached at a time when he was preparing for the World Cup with South Africa. An honourable man, he felt it would be wrong to take on another leading role straight away. He was due to stand down as the Pakistan coach after the current World Cup in West Indies and in January had expressed his interest in The Times in joining England in the event of Fletcher standing down.

He had been a part of a side that had beaten Australia in his playing days and yearned to achieve that as a coach.

As a player and as a coach, Woolmer did not court controversy and was essentially a mild-mannered man. Yet he was caught up in several important postwar controversies in the game. Indeed, it could be said that only the D’Oliveira affair escaped his involvement. As well as signing for Packer in 1977, a time when he was regarded as potentially a future England captain, he joined the first breakaway tour to South Africa in 1982, organised by Geoffrey Boycott and Graham Gooch, and was the coach of South Africa when Hansie Cronje was implicated for match-fixing. Throughout the affair Woolmer remained resolutely loyal to his captain, who had not informed him of his underhand intentions.

As a result of joining Packer and playing in South Africa in the apartheid era, Woolmer was banned from playing for England for five years and hence not only did not become England captain but also did not achieve all he should have done as a stylish batsman and medium-pace bowler. He determined to make the most of his talents as a coach and was intent on remaining in the game for as long as he could.

He gained a particular reputation for his innovative use of technology and was to be seen on the dressing-room balcony poring over his laptop, on which he would log the strengths and weaknesses of his players as well as the opposition. He was never too busy to impart technical advice to any cricketer who sought it.

Robert Andrew Woolmer had a bat and ball placed in his cot by his cricket-loving father, a civil servant in India, who told him that he hoped his life would be spent in the game. As a boy, he excelled at sport, notably cricket and hockey, at Skinner's School in Tunbridge Wells. His parents had wanted to send him to Tonbridge School but could not afford the fees, and, perhaps as a consequence, Woolmer was anxious to make as much money as he could throughout his career.

He joined Kent, was awarded his county cap in 1970 and was an integral part of a side that dominated domestic cricket in England for the next decade. He was often driven to matches by Colin Cowdrey, his captain, from whom he sought technical advice. To some extent, he modelled his batting on him, notably his cover drive.

Woolmer made his Test debut for England in 1975, scoring a century against Australia at the Oval that was notable for application and concentration. He was to play for his country only 19 times, scoring 1,059 runs at an average of 33.09, which did not reflect his ability. A back injury restricted his bowling to the extent that he took only four wickets and caused his retirement from first-class cricket in 1984, when he had to be carried from the crease in a match at Tunbridge Wells.

His benefit, the reward for county cricketers after ten years as a capped player, was not a success, and he emigrated to South Africa with his wife, Gill, who had grown up in Kwa-Zulu-Natal.

Woolmer scored 12,634 runs at an average of 35.09 for Kent, with a top score of 203, and took 334 wickets through bowling that often restricted the opposition’s scoring.

He became the coach of Avendale, a club for nonwhite cricketers in Cape Town, Boland, also in South Africa, and had one season with Kent, his old county, in 1987. This was relatively unsuccessful as he had left their dressing-room only a short while before and was too close to the players. He moved then to Warwickshire, with whom he won three trophies in 1994. This led to him being appointed coach of South Africa for the next five years by Ali Bacher. He was liked and respected by the players, and his honesty and love of the game, coupled with having no knowledge of Cronje’s activities, meant that he was untainted by association.

After turning down the approach by Simon Pack on behalf of England in 1999, Woolmer returned to Warwickshire. This proved to be a less successful association than hitherto, in part because the county no longer had players of the calibre of Brian Lara, and, after an approach by West Indies, Woolmer became coach of Pakistan in 2004. He saw himself as “a citizen of world cricket” and was able to adapt to a very different way of life from that he had been accustomed to in Cape Town and England.

He took particular care not to offend the Muslim players, supporters and administrators, although he declined to join the team in their prayers. He would tell them that cricket was his religion.

Woolmer was able to exert some discipline into a talented, but unpredictable team and, at the age of 58, felt he had one last big job left in him. He had not told the Pakistan Cricket Board of his intention not to seek a new contract when he had completed three years in the role in June, and was seeking sponsorship for a proposed cricket academy he was planning to build in South Africa if he did not receive a suitable offer from England or any other international side. “I always wonder what would have happened had I not signed up for World Series Cricket or turned down the possibility of coaching England, but I don't regret what I have done with my life,” he said in January.

Woolmer’s enthusiasm for the game extended to writing about it. He had a column in The Times and Wisden Cricketer and was about to embark on a book. A genial, well-spoken man, he was popular with English administrators who found him more approachable than the dour Fletcher and would have been in favour of him taking on the England job. He enjoyed other sports, wine and food and was always a convivial host. Even when results were poor, he was never downcast for long.

Bob Woolmer is survived by his wife, Gill, and two sons.

Bob Woolmer, cricketer and coach, was born on May 14, 1948. He died on March 18, 2007, aged 58