Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer may have been murdered after angering radical Muslims on his cricket team, according to a BBC investigation. Reeeeeally? Golly. Gosh. Shucks. Self-destructively murderous Moose limbs? Who'da ever guessed that?
The allegations come after preliminary toxicology tests showed Woolmer was rendered helpless with a powerful poison before being strangled. British television program Panorama alleged some players on the Pakistan team follow extremist Muslim movement Tablighi Jamaat, and suggested they may have plotted to kill their coach after he complained about their preoccupation with religion.
The team's former media manager, PJ Mir, told the program Woolmer shared his view that the team was suffering as some members of the squad were more interested in praying than playing. "(Bob) wasn't particularly pleased when players were going out to say their prayers in the middle of the game and a substitute was coming in," he said.
Mir was forced to flee Pakistan after his comments led to a fatwa being issued against him. He believes Woolmer may have been threatened as well. Woolmer, 58, was found strangled in his Kingston hotel room on March 18, the day after Pakistan crashed out of the World Cup in an upset loss to Ireland.
The reports of poison being involved in the murder may serve to explain how the former England player, who stood 1.88m tall, was unable to defend himself as he was being strangled. "Bob Woolmer was a large man and that's why one could argue that it was an extremely strong person, or maybe more than one person, but equally the lack of external injuries suggests that there might be some other factors and that's what we're looking into at the moment," said Jamaican Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields
Former South Africa cricket star Clive Rice, who was one of Bob Woolmer's best friends, told ninemsn he still thinks the murder is related to match-fixing. "I'd like to hear what Shields has to say about the whole thing before they come to a conclusion like that," Rice said. "When the perpetrators are caught, then we will find out what is going on. If it is players that have gone and done it, there has to be a vast investigation to find out who is associated with those players, and who else was involved, including the bookmakers."
Woolmer's body arrived back in Cape Town, where he lived, on Sunday.