Pakistan consider response to Woolmer U-turn
Woolmer is now believed to have died of natural causes
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Tuesday, 12, Jun 2007 11:17
The Pakistan Cricket Board is now considering the possibility of legal action after the Jamaican police called off the murder investigation around coach Bob Woolmer's death.
Players and officials from the Pakistan World Cup squad fell under immediate suspicion after police in the Caribbean announced their belief that foul play was involved in the former England international's death.
Only after each member of the touring party were questioned and fingerprinted were they allowed to return home after their dismal performances saw them fail to progress to the Super Eight stage of the competition.
Although the PCB expressed "great satisfaction" over the Jamaican authorities' admission that the former Warwickshire coach died of natural causes, it did not comment on any possible legal action.
Imran Khan, a former skipper of the team, has urged the board to pursue the matter after investigators' original conclusion sparked lurid speculation of possible motives and methods for the 'killing'.
"No-one should be able to go away scot-free after tarnishing and damaging the reputation of players and cricket so much," he said.
"They should have ruled out first whether this was natural causes. By what Pakistan cricket has been through - players being DNA tested, finger-printed, insinuations of match-fixing, insinuations that the players might have killed their coach - all this was so damaging and this went on for a good two months."
But one of the central figures in the drama, Pakistan World Cup captain Inzamam ul-Haq, has pleaded with officials to let the case rest.
"I don't feel court action would be of any use now," the recently-retired batsman said.