Cricket: Bob Woolmer's Widow Gill Says She Cannot Rule Out the Prospect That Her Husband Was Murdered

The widow of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer has not ruled out the possibility that he was murdered. Police revealed on Tuesday that they were treating the former England batsman's death as "suspicious" but stopped short of saying that he had been murdered.

Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious by staff at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on Sunday morning, the day after Pakistan's shock defeat to Ireland, and taken to hospital where he later died. Detectives on the island were waiting today for a pathologist's report on the death amid claims that he was murdered by "match-fixing mafia". Police have not commented on reports of marks on his neck or traces of poison in the room. Last night Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 93 runs, dedicating their victory to Woolmer.

The former Pakistan fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz claimed yesterday that Woolmer had been murdered to stop him blowing the whistle on match-fixing. "Woolmer's death has some connection with the match-fixing mafia," he said. "I've been saying this for the last four days that Woolmer's death is not natural, but it's a murder."

Asked about the claims that her husband was murdered, Gill Woolmer said: "I suppose there is always the possibility: I mean some of the cricketing fraternity are extremely volatile and passionate about the game and what happens in the game, and also a lot of it in Asia, so I suppose there is always the possibility that it could be that. It fills me with horror. I just can't believe that people could behave like that or that anyone would want to harm someone who has done such a great service to international cricket." When asked about the police's use of the word 'suspicious', she replied: "I don't really know. It does suggest that there might be foul play, but they obviously don't want to jump to conclusions and want to make sure that they're able to make the right decision after they have completed the tests.

"The latest that we heard last night was that the police are obviously going on with their investigation and they had a second pathologist coming in to give their second opinion and they are hoping that the results will be available today."

She said Woolmer had been very down after the Irish defeat but categorically ruled out suicide. "He was very depressed and he sent me an email to that effect but then he always got depressed and down when the boys didn't do as he expected and hoped they could and he knew what sort of state they were in. He knew they could perform and just got very down about it but that was normal ... he was a very competitive person. But there is no way that suicide was involved: he would never, ever."