In an earlier post - The Bob Woolmer Conspiracy! it was said that the possible assassination of Pakistan Cricket Coach Bob Woolmer could have been a creation of the media to hype the whole incident. Today however, the Jamaican Police seem to have bowled a yorker into the cricketing fraternity and into the spirit of the game with their findings.
"Police have reportedly found traces of poison on the floor of Woolmer's hotel room. There was blood on his cheek and eyes and scratches on his neck. ''There is now sufficient information to continue a full investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Woolmer, which we are now treating as suspicious,'' said Jamaica deputy commissioner of police Mark Shields."
However, this comes on the heels of a conflicting view point from Mrs. Woolmer ruling out a conspiracy only adds fuel to the entire situation.
Ruling out the possibility of foul play in Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer's death, his widow Gill on Tuesday rubbished reports that match-fixing may have anything to do with the tragedy. "No, I don't see any conspiracy in his death. I am aware that his death is being viewed as a suspicious death. He had nothing to do with the match fixing controversy and any such person being involved is highly unlikely. We never got any threats as far as I know," Gill told NDTV .
However, if the Jamaican Police do uncover some sinister plot behind Woolmer's death, then it would be the darkest period of International Cricket. The International Cricket Council is been trying hard to project a clean image after several incidents of match fixing and alleged links of players to international bookies who roll millions of dollars per match.
It is also akin to Colombian football which has seen a number of high profile violent incidents, with coaches and players often victim to the violence fuelled by the country's cocaine trade.
"National team defender Andres Escobar was murdered in 1994 shortly after returning from the World Cup in the United States. Many fans had blamed Escobar for Colombia's elimination after he scored an own goal in a match against the USA, and it was rumoured that the gunmen who killed him had previously been taunting him over the error. " ~ www.eurosport.com (Also read Football's day of shame - BBC Sport)
It also a repeat of an incident in January when "An American footballer was shot dead in a drive-by shooting yesterday hours after his team was dramatically knocked out of the Super Bowl play-offs. The Denver Broncos cornerback, Darrent Williams, was killed and two other people were injured when his limousine was sprayed with bullets in the centre of Denver."
In fact, former Pakistan cricketer Sarfaraz Nawaz has not only called it a murder but has accused an international betting mafia - also involving ICC and Pakistan board officials, match referees and umpires - of doing in Woolmer. He said that Woolmer was about to spill the beans on this syndicate in a forthcoming book.
There is also another conspiracy theory about Pakistan's startling and unexpected defeat against Ireland. According to it, the match might have been fixed and Woolmer possibly got to know about it. No doubt those who put their money on Ireland made a killing, but it must be stressed that this theory has no basis so far.
It is not a good day for cricket, the attention has shifted from "Who will win the World Cup" to 'Who killed Bob Woolmer." Not exactly the kind of publicity that the organizers and sponsors of the World Cup would have liked.
It is should be noted that the 1986 Mexico World Cup Football is only remembered by a single incident - the Hand of God by Diego Maradona. In the same manner, unless something happens to eclipse the death of Bob Woomer this edition of the World Cup Cricket in West Indies will be remembered only for Bob Woolmer.
Related Articles
Woolmer's widow rules out conspiracy in death
Poison found in Woolmer's room
Jamaican cops treating Woolmer death as 'suspicious'
Woolmer post-mortem inconclusive, say PCB
Special Coverage: Bob Woolmer - A Mystery Death
Part 1 - The Bob Woolmer Conspiracy!
"Police have reportedly found traces of poison on the floor of Woolmer's hotel room. There was blood on his cheek and eyes and scratches on his neck. ''There is now sufficient information to continue a full investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Woolmer, which we are now treating as suspicious,'' said Jamaica deputy commissioner of police Mark Shields."
However, this comes on the heels of a conflicting view point from Mrs. Woolmer ruling out a conspiracy only adds fuel to the entire situation.
Ruling out the possibility of foul play in Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer's death, his widow Gill on Tuesday rubbished reports that match-fixing may have anything to do with the tragedy. "No, I don't see any conspiracy in his death. I am aware that his death is being viewed as a suspicious death. He had nothing to do with the match fixing controversy and any such person being involved is highly unlikely. We never got any threats as far as I know," Gill told NDTV .
However, if the Jamaican Police do uncover some sinister plot behind Woolmer's death, then it would be the darkest period of International Cricket. The International Cricket Council is been trying hard to project a clean image after several incidents of match fixing and alleged links of players to international bookies who roll millions of dollars per match.
It is also akin to Colombian football which has seen a number of high profile violent incidents, with coaches and players often victim to the violence fuelled by the country's cocaine trade.
"National team defender Andres Escobar was murdered in 1994 shortly after returning from the World Cup in the United States. Many fans had blamed Escobar for Colombia's elimination after he scored an own goal in a match against the USA, and it was rumoured that the gunmen who killed him had previously been taunting him over the error. " ~ www.eurosport.com (Also read Football's day of shame - BBC Sport)
It also a repeat of an incident in January when "An American footballer was shot dead in a drive-by shooting yesterday hours after his team was dramatically knocked out of the Super Bowl play-offs. The Denver Broncos cornerback, Darrent Williams, was killed and two other people were injured when his limousine was sprayed with bullets in the centre of Denver."
In fact, former Pakistan cricketer Sarfaraz Nawaz has not only called it a murder but has accused an international betting mafia - also involving ICC and Pakistan board officials, match referees and umpires - of doing in Woolmer. He said that Woolmer was about to spill the beans on this syndicate in a forthcoming book.
There is also another conspiracy theory about Pakistan's startling and unexpected defeat against Ireland. According to it, the match might have been fixed and Woolmer possibly got to know about it. No doubt those who put their money on Ireland made a killing, but it must be stressed that this theory has no basis so far.
It is not a good day for cricket, the attention has shifted from "Who will win the World Cup" to 'Who killed Bob Woolmer." Not exactly the kind of publicity that the organizers and sponsors of the World Cup would have liked.
It is should be noted that the 1986 Mexico World Cup Football is only remembered by a single incident - the Hand of God by Diego Maradona. In the same manner, unless something happens to eclipse the death of Bob Woomer this edition of the World Cup Cricket in West Indies will be remembered only for Bob Woolmer.
Related Articles
Woolmer's widow rules out conspiracy in death
Poison found in Woolmer's room
Jamaican cops treating Woolmer death as 'suspicious'
Woolmer post-mortem inconclusive, say PCB
Special Coverage: Bob Woolmer - A Mystery Death
Part 1 - The Bob Woolmer Conspiracy!
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