Bob Woolmer: His Murder Nearly Solved?

OK, I admit The Sun is the rubbishiest of newspapers, but…but for a brief moment imagine if what yesterday’s news item hints at, just turns out to be true.

I have never heard of Aconite. Has it really been used ‘in several high-profile assassinations in Pakistan’ as this piece asserts or is this wretched paper making it up to sell more copies.

Only time will tell.

And yes, the other piece of news in The Sun is that Jamaican detectives have identified a suspect on the newly cleaned and enhanced CCTV footage.

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Potter drug did kill Woolmer

The Sun, April 20, 2007

CRICKET coach Bob Woolmer WAS poisoned by the “Harry Potter” drug aconite.

Toxicology tests have confirmed “significant” traces of it in the Pakistan coach’s body.

The tests were ordered following an anonymous tip to Jamaican police — eight days after Woolmer died — that aconite had been used.

Aconite, which paralyses the nerves, normally takes only 30 minutes to kill. Victims suffer vomiting and diarrhoea before collapsing unable to breathe, to die in agony.

Experts say the drug causes a sensation like ants crawling over the body.

A neck injury — which caused police to say Woolmer had been strangled — is now thought to have followed a fall when he collapsed.

Detectives believe the drug, in the form of white powder, could have been tipped into whisky Woolmer was drinking in his room — or sprinkled over sleeping tablets and diabetes pills he was taking.

The ancient poison, also known as wolfsbane, is said to be perfect for concealing murder and has been used in several high-profile assassinations in Pakistan.

… One senior police source said last night: “The toxicology tests show that he had significant traces of aconite.

“We are now entirely convinced he was poisoned. The fact that aconite has also previously been used in Pakistan may also be highly relevant.”

Another source added: “This murder proves that truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction. It is now an international inquiry and could ultimately involve high-level diplomatic discussions.”

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'Suspect' over Bob Woolmer

The Sun, April 21, 2007

AN inquest into the death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has been postponed — due to “significant developments” in the murder inquiry, it was revealed last night.

Detectives are believed to have identified a suspect on enhanced CCTV footage from his hotel in Jamaica. Sources say images cleaned up by Scotland Yard show a man of “considerable interest”.

They added: “The time of the footage and its location mean that this individual must be considered a suspect.”

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Bob Woolmer
Pakistan
Pakistan Cricket

Pakistan Cricket's Lightweight

Remaining on the topic of cricket, your Blogger cannot help but notice that despite a series of catastrophes the old adage plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose (The more things change, the more they stay the same) continues to apply to the PCB.

I came across one of Kamran Abbasi’s blogs on the Cricinfo site. In this Blog titled ‘Power without responsibility: the story of Pakistan’ .Abbasi lambastes Dr Nasim Asharaf and his mentor Musharraf.

This medical practitioner was, until Musharraf discovered him, simply a US-based urologist. Reclassified three years ago as a ‘cricket expert’ Ashraf was appointed by the General to the PCB Ad Hoc Committee and then last year his mentor made him Chairman PCB.

After the double disaster in the West Indies Asharaf went through the motions of taking responsibility by offering his resignation, which was swiftly turned down by Musharraf.

This is what Kamran Abbasi had to say about General and his medico friend:

We hear that Mushy, the president not the assistant coach, has not accepted the resignation of his pal Nasim Ashraf. This is a diabolical decision. Ashraf has presided over the most disastrous period in the history of Pakistan cricket. Blessed by failure he is being asked to continue and finish the job. God help us. The job he gave the impression of performing was the destruction of Pakistan cricket.

Following the lead of his own boss, President Mushy, he appointed his own pals and acquaintances to key PCB positions. No wonder Pakistan cricket is in a mess.

Ashraf has presided over the dumb reign of Younis Khan as "dummy" captain, the doping fiasco, Waqar's dismissal and the horse-trading that lead to Mushy the coach being appointed, the injury and selection chaos, the unfettered power of Inzamam and the sidelining of Woolmer (on this I quote Bob: "Since the resignation of the last Chairman any views I have had have not been wanted! The new Chairman certainly has his own way"), and a failure to deliver the constitution that he solemnly promised.

What's more he has annoyed the team and management by hanging out with them on tour like some sort of star-struck groupie, worse still a groupie who has got involved with team matters. In short, I hold him responsible for orchestrating this disaster.

President Mushy's decision does make sense from one viewpoint, however. Pakistan has too long tolerated power without responsibility. If Ashraf were to be seen to be taking responsibility for his cock-ups then the president, in his position of patron of Pakistan cricket, might have to accept some responsibility too. Now we couldn't have that could we?

This Blog seemed to have hit a tender nerve among Pakistani cricket fans and they reacted by sending in a voluminous number of comments. What surprised me was the depth of rage surging within the ranks of Pakistan’s cricket loving public.


Here are some examples:

Some humorous
Dear President Musharraf,
Please consider me for the post of PCB Chairman, I am doctor also and have played cricket at college level, rest assured I will complete your mission of complete destruction of Pakistan cricket.

Some Angry
What has Musharraf got to do with cricket? I don't know how he could have any time left over after playing the roles of the president, the army chief, the sole policy-maker while he is not busy interfering with the judiciary etc etc.

This MUSH regime has done nothing but to mess up things in a routine fashion. Nasim is not even qualified to be a water boy yet he is the chairman of the PCB. God help us all!!

Some Bitter
Why are u complaining after all Pakistan is a colony of the Army. It’s there right to do whatever they want and however they want to screw the nation.

Some philosophical (!?)
The story of pakistan and pak cricket goes like this:
..... har shaakh pe aik ulloo betha hay, injaam-e-gulistaan kya ho ga...

Others are problem solving (!)
I am sick and tired of this slow agonizing death. Why don't we just hammer in the final nail? I recommend that Altaf Hussain (MQM) be made president of PCB.
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If you want to read more of these comments then click here: http://blogs.cricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2007/03/power_without_responsibility_t.php#comments
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Pakistan

Pakistan Cricket

Naseem Ashraf

Honouring Bob

Being Pakistani it is natural for your Blogger to be a keen cricketing fan. The mortifying defeat of our national team by Ireland at Sabina Park, Kingston, was a bitter pill to swallow. But what followed a day later– the tragic death of Bob Woolmer - was a much greater calamity.

Before his death it was becoming increasingly clear that Woolmer's professional expertise was not being properly utilised by the mule headed and increasingly dictatorial Inzamam and the lightweight currently occupying the position of PCB chairman. The moment Naseem Ashraf became head of PCB he effectively sidelined Woolmer (who is on record as having despondently stated :"Since the resignation of the last Chairman any views I have had have not been wanted! The new Chairman certainly has his own way").

Like most cricketing fans I had tremendous respect for Woolmer’s coaching abilities – he had widely been acknowledged as the leading light of the international coaching world. But more than that, like many other Pakistanis, I had come to develop an unusual fondness for this genial, soft spoken and gentlemanly person.

Present reasoning would suggest that either Woolmer died a natural death brought upon by the shock of his team’s defeat or the unfortunate man was gruesomely murdered by an international set of villains – most likely of sub-continental origins.

In either case he died while serving the cause of our national cricket. So it is only appropriate that Woolmer’s services to Pakistani cricket be properly acknowledged.

For my part, I can think of no better way of honouring Woolmer’s memory than by renaming Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium (named after a nasty half-witted Libyan dictator who still remains clueless about cricket) to Woolmer Stadium.

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Bob Woolmer

Pakistan Cricket