Matchfixing and Murder?

Speaking on Sky News today, Gill Woolmer, the wife of Bob Woolmer, said that she could not rule out the possibility that her husband had been murdered. This comes after an autopsy had deemed that Woolmers death not be labelled as suspicious. The results of further tests, including toxicology, are expected soon and will hopefully provide more answers for his family and the public.When asked about the speculation that her husband had committed suicide by overdosing on pills and alcohol, Mrs Woolmer, together with her son Russel, said that this would never have happened. She went on to say that he had been depressed after Pakistan’s shock defeat by Ireland the night before, but that he had always been depressed his team had not performed as well as they could. With mounting speculation that Woolmers death may have been foul play, newspapers in Jamaica are claiming that they have sources within the police department who are saying that there is evidence that Mr Woolmer may have been strangled. Following on from this claim is the news that Sarfraz Nawaz, a former Pakistan fast bowler, is alleging that Woolmer may have been strangled to silence him from going public about a betting scandal that he may have discovered. Nawaz says that he believes that bookmakers are manipulating results at the World Cup, and that this may involve some Pakistan cricketers. He goes on to claim that Woolmer may have discovered this betting scandal involving his own players and as a result was silenced before he could speak out. It must be remembered though that at this time these claims are just that, claims, pure speculation. Match fixing and murder are not what the game of cricket or the family of Bob Woolmer need to hear right now. If it turns out that he lost his life as a result of a game, for that is just what sport is, a game, then this game may be sullied for a long time to come. Lets hope for all our sake, and most importantly for that of his family, that this is not the case.