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Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer dies


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Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has died after being discovered in his Jamaica hotel room on Sunday morning.

The 58-year-old former South Africa coach, who played for England between 1975 and 1981, was found unconscious at the Pegasus Hotel at 1045 local time.

He was taken to the emergency ward of the nearby University hospital but did not regain consciousness.

"It is very shocking news to all of the team and the team management," said Pakistan team manager Pervez Mir.

Mir revealed that Woolmer suffered from a medical condition - but said it was too early to say whether it played a part in his death.

"We saw him last night but having not seen him early today two of our officers went to his room and with the help of hotel staff entered. He was found unconscious there.

"It is too early to say whether he has suffered a heart attack. We are awaiting medical reports."

Woolmer's South-Africa based wife has been notified. He also leaves two children.

Pakistan were eliminated from the World Cup on Saturday after losing by three wickets to minnows Ireland.

Their preparations for the tournament had been far from ideal.

Following the infamous forfeited Test against England at The Oval last summer, two of their leading fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, were suspended after failing doping tests.

The pair later saw those bans rescinded but missed the World Cup because of injury, something Woolmer admitted had hindered the team.

"There are a number of extenuating circumstances in the last six months that have made coaching Pakistan slightly different to normal sides," he said after the defeat by Ireland.

The Pakistan team are scheduled to play their third match of the World Cup against Zimbabwe on Wednesday in Jamaica.

Woolmer took charge of Pakistan for 10 Test series, four of which were won, with three lost and three drawn.

His overall Test record in 28 matches as Pakistan coach was 10 wins, 11 defeats and seven draws.

In the one-day game, he took charge of 69 Pakistan internationals, winning 37, and losing 29, with three non-results.

Previously he coached South Africa between 1994 and 1999, guiding them to the World Cup semi-finals.

Credit - BBC Sport

This is shocking, absolutely shocking, R.I.P. Bob.

__________________

Luke-E

Top bloke,top coach and was a top player.

Just goes to show what stress in sport can do to you. Will be missed by the cricket world and the world cup will not be the same now, the party world that was meant to be will be not as loud now.

RIP bobby.

Randy Orton

Police: Pakistan Cricket Coach Murdered
By HOWARD CAMPBELL, Associated Press Writer
4 hours ago


Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer is seen during practice ...
KINGSTON, Jamaica - The genteel sport of cricket was dealt a brutal blow when Jamaican police said Pakistan's national coach was murdered in his hotel room a day after his team suffered a humiliating World Cup loss.

Bob Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in his blood- and vomit-splattered hotel room in Jamaica on Sunday after his team's defeat to Ireland on St. Patrick's Day sealed Pakistan's ouster from the tournament.

He was later declared dead at a hospital. Police said at the time that initial tests didn't indicate how he died.

But Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas said Thursday in a statement that the pathologist report found Woolmer's death was due to "asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation." Police said they were reviewing security cameras at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel and urging witnesses to come forward.

"It is our belief that those associated with or having access with Mr. Woolmer may have vital information to assist this inquiry," Thomas said in the statement.

There was no evidence of forced entry, police said. No arrests have been made and there were no suspects in the case.

Mark Shields, the deputy police commissioner, said police were investigating if more than one person could have been involved.

"Because Bob was a large man, it would have taken some significant force to subdue him, but of course at this stage we do not know how many people were in the room," he told a news conference Thursday night. "It could be one or more people involved in this murder."

Woolmer's death prompted much speculation among followers of cricket, a sport that breaks for tea and makes baseball seem fast-paced. Despite its gentlemanly manner, the sport generates tremendous passion in Britain and its former colonies.

Protesters in several Indian cities, for instance, burned effigies of their national cricket players and destroyed portions of one player's half-built home after the team was beaten Sunday by Bangladesh.

"I couldn't have imagined even in my dreams that it could turn out to be a murder case," Pakistan's 1992 World Cup winning coach Intikhab Alam told The Associated Press in Pakistan. "You can't have more shocking news than this."

Shields declined to comment when asked about local media reports describing the condition of Woolmer's body. "There are some issues surrounding marks on his body, but for the moment I would rather we stick to the cause of death, which is asphyxia," he said.

Pakistan's team spokesman Pervez Jamil Mir said the players were shocked by the news Woolmer had been killed. "I've spoken to the chairman and he's totally devastated. He can't believe it. He's very, very distressed. The team is distressed. Everybody is absolutely in a state of shock," he said.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan's cricketers were fingerprinted and interviewed by police, then allowed to travel across the island to Montego Bay. Mir said Jamaican police were not preventing the team from leaving the country and they would depart for Pakistan on Saturday.

Assistant Police Commissioner Les Green said the team was fingerprinted as part of standard procedure "to eliminate persons from fingerprints which would be found in the room."

"After a thorough investigation, fingerprints not belonging to Mr. Woolmer were found in the room," he told the AP.

Nasim Ashraf, who tendered his resignation as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board soon after the team's defeat to Ireland, said Friday that the players were not facing any restrictions on their movements and would return home soon.

"The Bob Woolmer case is under investigation, but I want to make it clear that there is no suspicion on the Pakistani team," Ashraf said in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

An outspoken Pakistani player speculated that gambling interests had it in for Woolmer. The coach's widow said he was depressed about losing the game, but would never have committed suicide. She said an irate fan might have killed her husband.

"Some of the cricketing fraternity, fans, are extremely volatile and passionate about the game and what happens in the game," Gill Woolmer said Thursday in an interview from South Africa with Britain's Sky TV. "So I suppose there is always the possibility."

Gill Woolmer said her husband had not recently mentioned anything about match fixing. He had been South Africa's coach in the 1990s when the team's captain, Hansie Cronje, admitted taking money to fix matches and was banned for life. Woolmer was never implicated.

The head of the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit will investigate if match fixing had played a role in Woolmer's death, ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said. The World Cup tournament will continue.

Woolmer's death left the Pakistan national team in tatters and tears.

Team captain Inzamam-ul-Haq announced his resignation and retirement from one-day cricket after Woolmer's death, then led Pakistan to an emotional victory Wednesday against Zimbabwe. A fan at the match hoisted a sign saying: "Do it for Bob."

The burly, bearded team captain left the field weeping after the victory he dedicated to Woolmer. "He's not in this world now and every Pakistani and every cricket lover is sad," he said.

Woolmer, who is British, was born in India, played for England and recently split his time between Pakistan and South Africa. He is being accorded hero status in Pakistan after his death. Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said he would be awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, or Star of Excellence, for his contribution to sport.