Bob Woolmer's murder: A whodunit
at the world cup
23 March, 2007: A world cup
campaign has never ever been tragic.
Cricket World Cup 2007 will go down in
history as a tournament that killed
the game’s most futuristic coach. Bob
Woolmer was indeed a player and coach
who looked forward and wanted to take
the game to greater heights. The dream
died young.
The media, and all those close to Bob
Woolmer say that Pakistan’s South
African coach was killed. The death
that came soon after Inzy’s green
brigade lost before it began its
actual cup campaign, has actually
spurred speculations of suicide, and
even death due to humiliation. Rumours
that flew thick and fast have more or
less settled for the moment following
reports that Bob was murdered. It is
now left to the Jamaican police and
probably the sleuths from Scotland
Yard to unravel the mystery of the
killing.
The Jamaican Police has, in the
meantime, issued a statement which
reads that “the official report from
the pathologist states that Woolmer's
death was due to asphyxia as a result
of manual strangulation. In these
circumstances, the matter of Woolmer's
death is now being treated by the
Jamaican police as murder." So the
plot and the evil brains behind it
remain to be revealed now.
Though it would take a while before
the investigators find out how many
people were there in Bob’s room just
before he breathed his last, there are
speculations that there could have
been one or more people involved in
the murder. The investigation is
underway; fingerprints of the
Pakistani players have been taken by
the Jamaican police, and they have
also been questioned.
With Bob Woolmer's wife Gill saying
that she too did not rule out the
possibility that her husband had been
murdered, the investigation is set to
gain momentum.
There are conflicting reports on
arrests and suspects - there is news
of two Pakistan team players being
asked to stay back in Jamaica, while
the PCB has denied any such move from
the Jamaican police.
Bob Woolmer is gone, his death casting
a pall on World Cup 2007. The death of
the famed coach who brought in
technology will remain etched in the
annals of the game. The passing away
of Bob Woolmer brings to light the
high levels of volatility in the
cricketing fraternity and the fans of
the game.
Who is to blame? Has the game fallen
into the hands of evil forces? The
game needs to be saved. Who will do
that and how?
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