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(Adds further reaction) By Telford Vice DURBAN, South Africa, June 12 - The family of
former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer expressed relief on Tuesday at
the Jamaican police announcement that he had died of natural
causes and not murder as initially suspected. Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in his hotel room in
Kingston on March 18 after his team had been upset by Ireland in
the cricket World Cup. "We hope that this matter will now be closed and that our
family will be left to grieve in peace," his widow Gill Woolmer
said in a media statement in South Africa, where the highly
respected coach was cremated in May. She also thanked Jamaican police for treating the family
well over the course of the three-month investigation. "We realise that this investigation has been problematical
to conduct given the circumstances and the media spotlight that
has been focused upon it," she said. But Pakistan cricketers had few kind words for the police. "It has been a traumatic period for all of us because of the
unnecessary delay in resolving the cause of Woolmer's death. But
finally we are relieved it is all over now," Pakistan Cricket
Board spokesman Ehsan Malik said. The announcement in late March by Jamaican police that
Woolmer had been strangulated triggered speculation that irate
fans or an illegal gambling syndicate lay behind the murder. "There is no doubt Pakistan cricket came under great
pressure because of the speculations and suspicions surrounding
this high-profile case," Malik said. Malik declined to comment on reports the PCB was
contemplating filing for damages against the Jamaican police. In South Africa, whose national team Woolmer coached from
1994 to 1999, the reaction combined relief for his family with
anger at the tortuous investigation. "Bob left a tremendous legacy in cricket, and to have to go
through all this fumbling and bumbling without knowing what
happened has been tough," Gary Kirsten, a former South Africa
opener, told Reuters. South-Africa all-rounder Shaun Pollock said: "It still
doesn't take away from the fact that Bob died, but at least this
gives his family some closure." Current South Africa coach Mickey Arthur said the finding
that Woolmer died of natural causes would help clear the air in
the broader cricket world. "It's a selfish point of view and I know this news doesn't
make his family feel any better, but cricket doesn't need more
scandals," he said. (Additional reporting from Karachi bureau)
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