Pakistan were knocked out of the 2007 World Cup by Ireland. To make matters much worse, coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room the next day. PHOTO: AFP
It was on March 17, 2007 — St Patrick’s Day — that the unheralded Irish team stunned Pakistan in a group match at Sabina Park, Jamaica.
The loss knocked Pakistan out of the tournament but a bigger shock awaited them a day later when their coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in the bathroom of his hotel room in Kingston.
The 58-year-old, who was on medication for diabetes, was lying naked on his back, and there was blood in his mouth and appeared to have vomited on the walls.
When his death was made public, it was assumed to be a heart attack but there were suggestions of suicide.
After lengthy investigations that even included the possibility of murder, police on June 12 announced that Woolmer had died of natural causes.
The inquest proved inconclusive, but the mystery lingers on and the pain that the cricket community endured during those horrific days dampened the mood for the rest of the World Cup which Australia went on to win.
Cricket-related deaths are uncommon, but the passing away of a team coach at the sport’s showpiece event after a defeat is a tragedy that took a long time to come to terms with.
Senior batsman Younus Khan, the only member of that 2007 Pakistan squad still involved with the ongoing World Cup, admitted he still missed Woolmer, their coach for three years from 2004.
“This is surely a very emotional game for me and all of us,” Younus said of Sunday’s match which takes place almost to the day of the tragic events eight years ago. “I remember Bob a lot, he contributed so much to Pakistan cricket. Hope we can win this game and some more in the World Cup. There would be nothing better to dedicate to Bob’s memory.”
Three current Irish players — skipper William Porterfield and the O’Brien brothers, Niall and Kevin — were also part of that match, as was Eoin Morgan, now England’s one-day captain.
The India-born Woolmer became a respected coach who had a stint with South Africa before moving to Pakistan.
Allegations of match-fixing had been swirling around cricket at the turn of the century, with investigations by the Qayyum commission in Pakistan and the Central Bureau of Investigation in India naming several players.
Unsurprisingly, Woolmer’s death began to be linked with foul play by the illegal betting mafia — fuelled by the fact that all 10 Pakistani wickets against Ireland fell to catches.
Pakistan were bowled out for 132, a target Ireland surpassed after losing seven wickets in a rain-interrupted game.
Woolmer, asked by reporters after the stunning loss whether he would resign, said he wanted to ‘sleep on my future as coach’.
The mystery deepened when Mark Shields, the deputy police commissioner of Jamaica, announced the coach had been murdered as the cause of death was “asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation”.
The then Pakistan captain, Inzamamul Haq, assistant coach Mushtaq Ahmed and team manager Talat Ali were among those who were grilled by Shields’ team and were even asked to provide DNA samples.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2015.
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