Was Coach Woolmer Killed Because of a Book?

The strangling death of Pakistan-team cricket coach Bob Woolmer this week has shocked fans all over the world. The affable 58-year-old Englishman had just coauthored a book which is now in production and which some speculate might have played a role in his murder. Co-written with sports scientist Professor Tim Noakes, Discovering Cricket: The Art and Science of the Game will still be published, thanks to The Bob Woolmer Trust Fund, according to Britain’s Independent. But according to the International Herald Tribune: “Former Pakistan fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz has claimed that Woolmer ... was killed because he was writing a book that would expose illegal gambling in the sport. Pakistan team spokesman Pervez Jamil Mir told reporters that Woolmer was upset that proofs of his book had gone missing. ‘Bob told me the proofs had been misplaced and he was very disturbed,’ Mir said. ‘I don't know what was in the book but that was his only copy at the time.’" The Independent also tells us this: “Minutes after the Pakistan team had been humiliated by Ireland, the chant started up among the Pakistan fans - ‘Woolmer murdabad’: death to Bob Woolmer. Within hours, the coach had been burnt in effigy in Pakistan. But in the wake of the news that Woolmer was murdered in his hotel room in Jamaica, the Pakistani criticism has fallen silent. Instead, President Pervez Musharraf announced that Woolmer is being posthumously awarded one of Pakistan's highest honours, the Sitara-e Imtiaz. The chants of ‘murdabad’ have long been part of Pakistani cricket support, but they have never been in earnest. They have had more to do with passionate fans letting off steam than any real threat.” Hmmm. Horrible.