Official Report Says Cricket Coach Was Murdered

Pakistan’s Cricket Coach Was Strangled To Death

By Jerry Garner

The world of cricket was shaken when the 58 year old coach of the Pakistan cricket team, Bob Woolmer, was found dead in his hotel room following a St Patrick’s Day loss to the Irish cricket team. Authorities initially refused to speculate as to the cause of death, but official reports now state that the cricket coach was murdered. This has opened the door for speculation about everything from angry fans to organized crime and match fixing.

Cricket is generally thought of as being a slow paced, gentlemanly sport. The game, which takes breaks for tea and socializing, makes other sports seem fast paced by comparison. But the gentle nature of the game can be deceptively misleading as tensions flare during the Cricket World Cup championship games. This was evidenced in India earlier in the week, as protestors burned effigies of their players, and even burned one player’s home to the ground, after the team suffered a loss to Bangladesh.

Despite high tensions during the world cup championships, Woolmer’s death caught many by surprise, and shocked the nation of Pakistan, who’s team Woolmer coached. Early reports of Woolmer’s death indicated that he was discovered in his hotel room, which was splattered with blood and vomit. Rumors have also circulated that strange marks were found on Woolmer’s body, but those reports have not been confirmed.

Although no cause of death was officially announced, authorities have now released details from a pathologists report that stated the official cause of death was “asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation.” Because of Woolmer’s large size, authorities suspect that multiple people were involved in his homicide.

There have been fingerprints found in Woolmer’s hotel room that have been proven to not belong to Woolmer or hotel staff. Police have fingerprinted associates and team members as part of the process of eliminating suspects. At this time the team has no restrictions of movement. The team is expected to return to Pakistan soon.

While the investigation into the cricket coach’s death is still early, a number of rumors have cropped up among those who have followed the case. In addition to being murdered by angry fans, other speculation includes the possibility that Woolmer could have been murdered by organized crime figures who were angry over failed attempts to fix the cricket match.

This rumor is largely the result of Woolmer’s coaching activities in South Africa during the 1990s. During that time, Woolmer’s Team Captain was admitted that he had been paid to fix matches. Although Woolmer was never implicated in the case, it has left many to wonder if organized crime connections could have led to his ultimate demise.

With speculation and conjecture aside, the reality is that many are in a state of shock and mourning over the untimely passing of Bob Woolmer. Woolmer was an Indian-born Brit who started his career as a player and grew to be the coach of multiple cricket teams. Pakistan’s President General Pervez Musharraf will be presenting Woolmer’s wife with the Star of Excellence in honor of her husband’s contribution to the sport.

Related News:

Official Report Says Cricket Coach Was Murdered

Police: Pakistan cricket coach murdered

Bob Woolmer's death

Woolmer strangulated to death: Police