Pakistan cricket board officials suspect that the death of coach Bob Woolmer was due to natural causes and that the Jamaican police acted hastily by declaring it a murder.
A senior official of the board, who asked not to be identified, said they had received information that there could have been mistakes in the first autopsy on Woolmer’s body.
”We believe that the autopsy by the pathologist may have had error counts and they [police] are now considering having a second autopsy to confirm the cause of death,” the official told Reuters.
”The feedback we have got is there are some contradictions in the version of events after Woolmer’s body was found unconscious. But we will get a clearer picture after our manager briefs the board on what took place there,” he said.
Woolmer (58) was found unconscious in his hotel room on March 18, the day after Pakistan had lost to Ireland and been eliminated from the World Cup.
He was declared dead later at a hospital and Jamaican investigators said after the autopsy that they had compelling evidence to suggest the former England player had been strangled.
Briton Mark Shields, the deputy police commissioner heading the investigations, told Reuters in Kingston on Tuesday that it could take months to piece together a complicated murder case with hundreds of potential witnesses.
The PCB official said the board were convinced none of its players were involved in any wrongdoing. ”We are backing our players to the hilt,” he said.
‘Living a nightmare’
Pakistan’s cricketers are ashamed of their early exit from the World Cup and the death of Woolmer was a body blow, players said on their return home on Wednesday.
There were no protests or insulting banners awaiting Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Sami and Danish Kaneria at a crowded Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, but the players apologised to the nation for their poor display.
”We are ashamed of our performances and gutted because of our coach Bob Woolmer’s death,” wicketkeeper Akmal told reporters at the airport.
”We can only apologise to our people for letting them down.”
Senior players Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf returned home on Monday while captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and others are due to reach Lahore later in the day from London.
”No one can understand the pressure we were under because of our defeat to Ireland and Woolmer’s death,” said allrounder Afridi.
The team had wanted to do well in the tournament and were confident of playing in the Super Eights, but two bad days against the West Indies and Ireland put them out of contention, he aded.
Pakistan’s early World Cup exit has seen Inzamam-ul-Haq retire from one-day internationals and resign as captain while the Pakistan Cricket Board chairperson and selectors have also resigned.
”Our team is much better than what we played in the World Cup. Losing to Ireland was a big shock,” said Kaneria.
”It was like living a nightmare.” – Reuters