Woolmer Detectives Investigate Match Fixing Theory

Detectives investigating the murder of Pakistan's cricket coach, Bob Woolmer, say they are actively pursuing the possibility that match-fixing of one or more of the World Cup games may have provided the motive for his killing.

They confirmed tonight that they are collaborating with a senior official from the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit to investigate speculation that Woolmer may have been intending to expose foul play.

They are also investigating rumours that the coach was involved in a dispute with some of his players on their return from Saturday's Ireland game and said they would be interviewing security personnel who had been on the team bus.

Earlier, it had emerged that the entire Pakistan team has been swabbed for DNA samples today amid rising concerns that the team was being singled out for police attention.

As the hunt for Woolmer's killer continued, a specialist forensic unit arrived by helicopter at the Jamaica hotel where the Pakistan team is staying, to conduct hours of tests. Senior police officers have emphasised that the testing was routine and would be applied to all potential witnesses.

Although the Pakistan team volunteered to give samples, detectives say they have been made aware of concerns in Pakistan that the country's players are being targeted. Tonight Naseem Ashraf, Pakistan's cricket chief, said his players were "no more suspect than anyone else in that hotel" and should be brought home as soon as possible. "They have been through a lot of trauma and stress and their families are worried. This sorry and sordid saga of [Woolmer] having been murdered has shaken us to the root," he said in Islamabad.

Detectives said tonight that they were analysing the records of Woolmer's key card entry to his hotel room and a similar card-swipe device in the hotel lifts. They are exploring the possibility that his killer may have been let into Woolmer's room by the coach himself, or may have had their own card to the room, or a master card.

Mark Shields, a former Scotland Yard chief superintendent who is heading the investigation, said: "I think it is a possibility that Bob may have known his killer or killers. The card entry system on the door and in the lift lends itself to that, although we have not ruled out a stranger."

Investigators are also awaiting toxicology reports that would indicate whether the coach had been drugged.

Following their humiliating defeat to Ireland, the squad is expected to fly off the island tomorrow to return home to Pakistan, via London.

There has been speculation that Woolmer may have been a target for betting syndicates and match-fixers; Pakistan team spokesman Pervez Jamil Mir said the coach had been "disturbed" that pages of a forthcoming autobiography had gone missing. "Bob told me the proofs had been misplaced and he was very disturbed," he said. "I don't know what was in the book but that was his only copy at the time."

But the murdered Briton's family, led by his wife Gill, attempted to dampen speculation tonight. Facing journalists with Woolmer's widow and two sons, Dale and Russell, at the family home in Cape Town, South Africa, his agent, Michael Cohen, said: "Contrary to reports, we can confirm there is nothing in any book Bob has written that would explain this situation and there were no threats received."

He said they were struggling to come to terms with the distressing revelations. "The news from Jamaica about Bob's death is devastating. It's very difficult for the family to come to terms with and they have no idea why this happened," Mr Cohen said. "Bob was a wonderful husband and father and a cricket coach. He gave his life to cricket."

The former Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan told the Guardian he was shocked by the news. "What could Bob have done that [someone] could have wanted to kill him? Frankly, I'm quite confused about the whole thing. First the shock of the Pakistan defeat. Then Bob's death. Then finding out he's been murdered. It's too much to handle at once."

The head of the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit will investigate if match-fixing had played a role in Woolmer's death, ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said.