Woolmer’s
half-naked body, which was partially wrapped in a towel, was
discovered in the bath in his hotel suite on Sunday morning. A
source close to the Pakistan squad told the Daily Express that
players were now living in fear that they could be on a hit list as
they were questioned to piece together the final hours of Woolmer’s
life. Police ordered hotel staff to provide extra security and many
of the players are expected to go into hiding in Britain when they
are given permission to leave the island.
Police from
Pakistan have also been called in to help with the investigation.
Who
did steal Manuscripts of the book?
Pakistan team spokesman Parvez Mir said that Woolmer had told him
that proofs of a book he had been writing on corruption in cricket
had been going missing.
He
said: "Bob told me the proofs of the book had been misplaced and he
was very disturbed. I don't know what was in the book, but that was
his only copy at the time."
The
former player claimed bookmakers were manipulating results and that
five members of the Pakistan World Cup party were involved.
Reports from Pakistan say five bookmakers flew to Jamaica before the
World Cup in a bid to fix Pakistan's first game against the West
Indies, which they also lost.
Mr
Woolmer, who has two grown-up sons, was South African coach in 2000
when their captain Hansie Cronje rocked the world of cricket by
admitted accepting bribes.
A
year earlier, three Pakistani players were banned over allegations
of fixing matches.
Cronje was killed in June 2002 in a plane crash. Some observers
believe he was murdered to stop him giving more details of the
match-fixing.
I have given full
details on this in my previous article.
The book with a
section about match-fixing
Bob
Woolmer,
who died under mysterious circumstances in the hotel room in
Jamaica, had inited Osman Samiuddin, the Pakistan editor of
cricinfo.com, to
author a book on
his experiences as the coach of the Pakistan cricket team and had
strongly hinted that the book would carry a section about
match-fixing.
Woolmer
made the offer to Samiuddin, who had got to know him well
professionally, in an email on September 18 last year. They had
subsequently chatted about the book, which he had planned to write
after the World Cup, and Woolmehad
said that he had things to reveal about match-fixing. He did not,
however, discuss any particulars though.
Woolmer
had already
written, with Professor Tim Noakes, a sports scientist, a book on
coaching that is to be published soon. Speculation over the
possibility of Woolmer
having been
murdered by people who feared being exposed in this book - titled
'Discovering Cricket: The Art and Science of the Game' - led Noakes
to deny that the book contained any reference to match-fixing.
Noakes was perhaps unaware that Woolmer
was
planning to write another book.
"He also
regularly mentioned that there would be details about big-name
Pakistani cricketers with whom he had had run-ins during his time
here."
But Samiuddin
said not a lot should be read into this because, as far as he was
aware, Woolmer
hadn't yet
started writing the book. "We didn't discuss any details of what he
was going to write. He just mentioned it in passing a couple of
times which is why we shouldn't put two and two together and make it
22."
Woolmer's
600-page book on coaching, according to a statement released by his
family, "pulls together all the years of experience Bob gained
coaching around the world as well as his own unique cricketing
philosophies"
"Tragically, the
final manuscript reached the West Indies the day after Bob died,"
the statement said.
And the
manuscript of the book was stolen from Bob’s room as mentioned in
the starting of this article.
Indian Pakistani
and Srilankan angle
A former
Pakistani Test cricketer on Friday claimed that Jamaican Police had
recovered contact numbers of some South Asian players, including
some Indians, Pakistanis and Srilankans, from a person arrested in
connection with the sensational murder of coach Bob Woolmer.
The player, who was named in the match-fixing scandal that rocked
international cricket in the late '90s, said on condition of
anonymity that police had shortlisted six suspects in the Woolmer
case.
"From what my informers have told me, they have arrested one man and
he had telephone numbers of some players which are now being looked
into," he said.
Woolmer had
planned book on Pak experience
Bob
Woolmer,
who died under mysterious circumstances in the hotel room in
Jamaica, had inited Osman Samiuddin, the Pakistan editor of
cricinfo.com, to
author a book on
his experiences as the coach of the Pakistan cricket team and had
strongly hinted that the book would carry a section about
match-fixing.
Not a sound as Bob was
murdered: Bob knew his killeer
Cricket coach Bob
Woolmer was of a heavy body overpowered and strangled in his hotel
room in total silence. So naturally the two or more are involved in
executing the murder. Detectives believe Bob knew his killer or
killers and may have let them in.
A Pakistan player
in the adjoining room spoke for the first time today to NDTV to say
he had not heard a sound on the night of the murder.
World Cricket Cup should be stopped
Jamaica police last night confirmed the Pakistan coach's death "was
due to asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation". I am unable to
understand why World Cricket Cup in the West Indies still is going
on. Why does ICC not stop it immediately?
Why
is ICC mum?
ICC
is nearly mum up till now on the mystery of Wolmer’s death. On March
20, I myself have written an article in detail under title “Was
Bob Woolmer poisoned? Police confirmed ‘death threats from Pak fans’
synopsis as “Satta Poison runs behind Bob’s death which Jamaica
Police treats as homicide. Deaths of Bob, Hansie Cronje, shooting of
footballer Andres Escobar have left many conspiracy theories,”
On March 21, I
have written another article titled “Bob Woolmer was murdered: Why
pressure of ICC on police?” and in this article I have quoted the
statement of former cricketer of Pakistan Sarfraz Nawaz in which he
said that ICC was the sponsor of all match fixing evils and he is
going to send a notice to ICC in this regard.
I myself have no
knowledge of the above. But I think that ICC itself becomes the
subject of various imaginations to keep silence. Thouh it has
sepecial cell for keeping eyes on the match fixing.
Why
does Wife of Bob or her son not reach in Jamaica up till now?
Cricet analyst Ashish Shukls asloe wondered on this. W’hy they are
not much ssensitive on conspiracy theory. Perhaps ICC and the family
members of Woolmer did mistake at this point.
Full coverage of
the events
March 22
Police hunt
Woolmer's killer
Police statement
Police fingerprint Pakistan players
Musharraf honours Woolmer
The Surfer
March 21
Woolmer's death
'suspicious' - police
Woolmer strangled - police source
Pakistan told to play final game
Bob was more than a coach - Rhodes
March 20
Woolmer's
post-mortem inconclusive
March 19
Woolmer death:
Hard news takes a back seat
March 18
Bob Woolmer's
death stuns cricket world
Woolmer Had E-Mailed His Resignation to PCB on March 18
Bob
Woolmer had tendered his resignation on Sunday; hours after his team
had lost to Ireland and made a shock exit from the World Cup.
Woolmer is known to have e-mailed his resignation to the Pakistan
Cricket Board chief Dr Naseem Ashraf on the day of his death.
However, Dr Ashraf, who himself has tendered his resignation
following the team’s dismal showing in the World Cup, has informed
that he received Woolmer’s mail only on Thursday