Caught Out - Shocking Revelations of Corruption in International Cricket. Brian Radford
was allowed in after she identified herself. According to the janitor the two men spoke in a language she did not know. She replaced the dressing-room toiletries and left.
Government pathologist Dr Ere Sheshiah told the inquest that he stuck by his conclusion that Woolmer was poisoned by the pesticide cypermethrin and then strangled. He stressed that he had served his profession for 18 years, which seemed to be a deliberate attempt by him to reassure everyone of his professional knowledge and experience.
Cypermethrin is a manmade chemical that was first synthesised in 1974 and first marketed in 1977 as being highly effective against a wide range of pests in agriculture, public health and animal husbandry. It is a mixture of several closely related chemicals. Excessive exposure to cypermethrin can affect the brain, digestive system, eyes, lungs, peripheral nerves and skin.
British forensic specialist Dr John Slaughter told the jury that he had analysed toxicology tests on Woolmer, and found no traces of a potentially deadly pesticide in samples that were provided. It could be significant that Dr Slaughter did not categorically state that no pesticide was found, but used the words ‘potentially deadly’.
A principal witness, who had worked for 26 years in the Forensic Laboratory in Jamaica, told the jury that tests carried out on blood and urine from Woolmer’s body had shown evidence of cypermethrin, and that the tranquilliser chloropazne was found in his stomach. Alcohol was also found in blood specimens.
Chief investigating officer Mark Shields read to the jury an e-mail that Woolmer had sent to his wife, Gill, from his room on the evening after Pakistan’s shock defeat. It said: ‘Hi darling, feeling a little depressed currently, as you might imagine… I am not sure which is worse, being knocked out in the semi-final at Edgbaston, or now in the first round. Our batting performance was abysmal, and my worst fears were realised. I could tell the players for some reason couldn’t fire themselves up… I hope your day was better, but I doubt it, as you were probably watching. Not much more to add I’m afraid, but I still love you lots.’
Mark Shields told coroner Patrick Murphy that former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was one of four Pakistani people who had refused to attend the inquest to give testimony and be questioned. He said that medium-pace bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, assistant manager Asad Mustafa, and former media manager Pervez Mir had also refused to travel to Jamaica. Requests for them to attend had been made through the Pakistan Cricket Board.
The shock-filled inquest lasted an intriguing 31 days before it closed on 28 November, by which time 57 witnesses had given evidence and a further seven witness statements had been handed to the jury, who took just three hours to return an open verdict, being unable to decide whether Woolmer died from natural causes or a criminal act. The jury foreman explained: ‘We came to an open verdict because the evidence was too weak. There were too many “ifs and buts” and “what ifs”. It was not conclusive.’
For conspiracy theorists it was the ideal result that would allow them all sorts of extravagant conjecture with little risk of official contradiction or denial. One immediate new theory was that Woolmer had died of heart failure brought on by chronic ill-health and possibly diabetes, even though as national team coach he was physically active every day and he had not talked about or shown any worrying health problems. Another more alarming theory was that he was going to name people involved in cricket betting in a book that he was writing.
Many crucial questions had still not been answered. For instance, did he send e-mails to his wife that fateful night that were not read at the inquest? What exactly was meant by ‘natural causes’? What did the death certificate state in detail, and who signed it?
At least one person was allegedly seen in the corridor near Woolmer’s room in the hours shortly before he died, and CCTV footage was sent to Scotland Yard for its experts to identify any images. Police chief Mark Shields confirmed that the Jamaican police were also working hard to identify everyone captured on security footage from the hotel.
So what exactly happened to the tell-tale film that was sent to Scotland Yard and to the Jamaican police? It is a matter of some concern that it was never disclosed whether the experts who studied the CCTV footage drew a blank, or whether they were indeed able to identify clearly an individual lurking in the corridors close to Woolmer’s room, and decided, for whatever reason, that silence was the best option.
Professor Tim Noakes, of the University of Cape Town, later came forward to say that he and Woolmer were writing a cricket coaching manual together which was due to be published by the end of the year. Woolmer was hardly taking a physical risk in compiling a tame coaching manual, but it would have been different if he were writing an explosive autobiography recalling shady dealings in the international cricket world.
Many well-informed journalists believed Woolmer was bringing his autobiography up to date, and that it would include his time in Pakistan, exposing scandals and naming perpetrators. Woolmer was coach of the South African team when captain Hansie Cronje, a close friend, confessed that he had accepted money from Indian bookmakers to fix matches, although it is stressed that there was nothing whatsoever to suggest that Woolmer was personally involved, or even knew what Cronje was up to.
Woolmer’s wife, Gill, has repeatedly said: ‘I don’t see any conspiracy in his death. He had nothing to do with the match-fixing controversy, and we’ve never had threats, as far as I know.’ She also said: ‘My sons and I were relieved to be informed officially that Bob died of natural causes, and that no foul play was suspected in his death.’ Woolmer’s son, Russell, added: ‘There was a lot of stress in his job, and it might have been stress that caused it.’
Yet it was the inquest jury’s failure to confirm what the three overseas pathologists concluded in direct contradiction of the initial findings by a highly competent government medical expert – with 18 years of experience in a fiercely volatile country – that was the great worry, and which means that the mystery remains as impenetrable now as it was when Bob Woolmer was found unconscious on his hotel bathroom floor.
No one was better placed than former Warwickshire all-rounder Paul Smith to provide a reliable and profound analysis of Woolmer the man, and Woolmer the coach. For several years Smith and Woolmer were close friends and colleagues, both at Edgbaston and in South Africa, where they often met up to coach and chat during the English winter months when there was no cricket.
Smith had the highest admiration for Woolmer, and in his explosive autobiography stressed that, as far as he was concerned, any accusations directed at Woolmer that alleged match-fixing would be a load of garbage. He was convinced that Woolmer was killed ‘precisely because he was so clean and so determined not to allow any of that seedy world to enter the sport he loved. He was certainly no match-fixer.’
Smith was aware that at the time of the ‘murder’ in the Caribbean, Woolmer was in the process of starting an academy in Cape Town, and was absolutely sure that his good friend and colleague would never have done anything to damage the game he loved. Quite amusingly, Smith said: ‘He might have found it hard to say no to Thai food, but he wasn’t greedy when it came to money. Very few top coaches would have been prepared to live in the basic one-bedroom flat in the National Stadium in Pakistan that Bob made his home for so long.’
Smith had the same welter of praise for Woolmer as an individual, and said that he would always be grateful for the part this special coach played in his education as a person. He recalled that what immediately stood out with Woolmer when he joined Warwickshire as coach in March 1991 was the time he spent trying to get his point across.
‘We would debate anything and everything, talking cricket for hours in an attempt to understand what could turn our fortunes,’ said Smith, admiringly.
‘It was time well spent. The four years he was with us at Edgbaston took the club to a different level. He was superb. A father figure, keen as they come, and with a professional approach and attention to detail that were allied to excellent communication skills and a healthy portion of common sense.’
Smith praised Woolmer in particular for his inventive skills and for not being afraid to be different, and recalled how this gifted coach judged fast bowler Allan Donald’s