Woolmer a victim of "manual strangulation"

The police have finally broken their silence over the death of Bob Woolmer, and confirmed what the rumour-mongers have pedalled for a number of days: he was strangled.  Mark Shields, of the Jamaican Police has asked that the perpetrators give themselves up, and that a full murder investigation is underway with "many lines of enquiry".

It is thought that the murder has been carried out by more than one person as, given Woolmer's size and the lack of an obvious struggle at the crime scene, it would have taken more than one person to subdue him.  The police also believe that the attacker/s were known to Woolmer.

The ICC has already stated that the tournament will continue, to "demonstrate that cricket cannot be put off by a cowardly criminal act".  Also, the cynic in me knows that the ICC have put too much money in, and moreover are expecting far too much money out, to cancel the whole show now.

So we now know the how but are mystified as to the why: there are murmurs about gambling cartels, gansters and extremists.  But one thing is for certain, this incident has struck at the very heart of cricket, and I for one will not feel then same about this tournament from now on.  Bob Woolmer was a cricket coach whose team had lost a match, that he should be killed because of this defies belief and sickens the stomach.  [lee calvert]