We all no doubt have to take a bow at some point and make our final exit from this stage we call earth but still it is difficult to accept the fact that I will never be seeing him again.

The world of sport has indeed lost one of its wonderful ambassadors, cricket has lost a truly remarkable and engaging personality, Bangladesh has lost one of its all time well-wishers and those of us who worked with him have lost a dear friend.

We had last spoken in September 2005 and had arranged to meet up when I next traveled to London. In his usual enthusiastic tone, he told me that he had many ideas he wanted to discuss with me and we must meet. I had readily agreed and was very much looking forward to doing so.

After Bangladesh's historic, eventful and successful debut in the 1999 World Cup in England which also saw the earlier than expected departure of Gordon Greenidge as coach of our national team, we were on the trail of finding an individual to fill the position.

With our application for Full Membership of the ICC pending and development of cricket in Bangladesh at a critical juncture, this was not going to be an easy task and the pressure on the BCB to find a successor to Gordon was mounting.

I turned to our well-wishers in international cricket to help and guide me and spoke to the likes of Denis Rogers, Jagmohan Dalmiya and Ali Bacher and all were of the opinion that given we had the potential and basic infrastructure, what Bangladesh cricket needed was a strong motivator who could instill confidence and self-belief in our players in order to equip and prepare them to play at the highest level.

Given his strong development orientation, Ali also agreed with me that the coach should be someone who could chart a development course for Bangladesh cricket in a manner and along a route that would be commensurate with our potential.

We thus had in place the basic attributes of the next coach for Bangladesh cricket and on this basis, the name of Eddie Barlow was first suggested to me by Ali soon thereafter.

I exchanged a flurry of emails and phone conversations with Ali checking on various aspects and making doubly sure that Eddie would indeed be the right person.

During my schooldays in England in the early and mid seventies, I had the privilege and sheer delight of watching two great South Africans playing in English cricket -- Eddie Barlow and Mike Proctor -- and had the highest respect for their talent and abilities.

Prodigious run-makers and frequent wicket-takers, both these world class all-rounders possessed that unique capability to alter the course of a match almost single-handedly. Here I was twenty-five years down the road having the opportunity to consider appointing one of them as coach of Bangladesh cricket.

I arranged with Ali for Eddie to visit Bangladesh as I also wanted to talk to him in person about what we were looking for from a new coach and to see how he viewed such a challenge. Eddie flew into Dhaka with his wife Cally and within minutes of that first meeting I knew Eddie, despite the fact that he was not in his first flush of youth, was indeed the right person for the job in hand.

His enthusiasm was in one word infectious and I could almost feel the energy he was generating in that very first meeting. I was excited to have Bangladesh cricket blossom under Eddie's stewardship and he must have been thrilled and energized by the challenge the position entailed.

Despite the years on him, it was very evident that he had lost none of his love, enthusiasm and passion for the game and in many ways the experience he had accumulated on the field and also off it with various development and youth squad responsibilities in South Africa, made him a more complete cricket individual and coach.

The Development Plan that Eddie put together and structured for Bangladesh cricket was widely recognised at that time by the ICC as the way forward and is still the one that even the current BCB top levels have had trouble finding faults with.

His legacy to Bangladesh cricket and the development of the game lies in his Development Plan and one day when Bangladesh rises to the pinnacle of world cricket, only then we will be able to show our gratitude and respect to this ultimate sports personality who as Ali Bacher once told me, would have represented South Africa at rugby had he not switched to cricket.

It is a tragedy that a year into his contract as coach of the Bangladesh cricket team Eddie suffered a stroke which in the case of any other person would have meant the end of their active life. As I stood by him in the Combined Military Hospital where he was quickly rushed to after the stroke, it was apparent that things would never be the same again but even lying in bed Eddie assured me and everyone else that he was going to be okay, managing to crack a few jokes.

Eddie being Eddie soldiered on, admirably supported by his wonderful and devoted wife, Cally, and took an assignment in Welsh cricket and in so doing refused to give up. He continued to give back to cricket, his passion, his life, right till his final goodbye.

It was one of the most painful moments of my life to have to convey to him the Board's decision that in his physical condition he could not do justice to the enormous responsibilities his position warranted and we would have to end our contractual agreement.

He was terribly disappointed and understandably so for one who had focussed and committed himself entirely to taking our cricket forward. When he finally left Bangladesh, tears were not just in his eyes and those of Cally but also in many of ours too.

Despite this contractual disassociation, Eddie never disconnected with Bangladesh cricket and continued to follow its progress and fortunes almost religiously. I was amazed whenever we spoke or communicated over the email how current and knowledgeable he was about our status.

Players who had the honour of knowing him and learning from him will be the first to admit he always stood by them and was quick to their rescue when any criticism would be labeled at them. He almost loved them as his own children and family.

I vividly recall being almost puzzled at seeing an incredibly relaxed Eddie Barlow prior to our Inaugural Test against India at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka in November 2000.

I was tense and nervous as to how Bangladesh would perform and if we could or would be capable of rising to the occasion. In the days leading up to the D-day, I would often check with him how things were going and how he as the coach felt we would perform.

"Relax Mr. President, the boys will do just fine" is how he would always respond back and fine they certainly did by scoring 400 runs in our first ever Test innings and for good measure in the process Aminul Islam Bulbul and Naimur Rahman Durjoy also set two world records.

Eddie had enormous confidence in the future of Bangladesh cricket and believed in it passionately. I believe he would have worked his magic and done wonders for Bangladesh cricket had he been with us for just a few more years. His refreshingly positive and competitive approach to the game would undoubtedly have inspired Bangladesh to greater heights.

To me Eddie will rank as the best coach Bangladesh cricket has had.

With respect, since Eddie's departure we have already had and will continue to have a coach of the Bangladesh national team in the future too but they will all be replacements, not successors of Eddie Barlow -- a great motivator, a fierce competitor and a wonderful human being.

Thank you Eddie for a memorable innings and I am sure you enjoyed playing it as much as we enjoyed watching you play. To me, at the end, you were neither bowled or caught or run out, nor trapped leg before .... you have simply opted to retire hurt.

The writer is a former Bangladesh Cricket Board president.