Pakistan to hold memorial service for Woolmer by AFP

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Event:

ICC World Cup 2006/07

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DateLine: 31st March 2007

 

A memorial service will be held for murdered Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer in the eastern city of Lahore on Sunday, a Pakistan Cricket Board official said.

 

The service will be held at Sacred Heart Cathedral to pay tribute "to the great services Woolmer rendered to Pakistan cricket," board director of communication Ahsan Malik told AFP on Saturday.

 

Woolmer was found strangled in his Jamaican hotel room on March 18, one day after Pakistan were dramatically ousted from the cricket World Cup following a defeat to minnows Ireland.

 

His death has shocked the international cricket community and left Pakistan cricket fans and the team reeling amid speculation over who might have been responsible for his death.

 

The one-hour memorial service would start at 12:00 pm (0700 GMT) and would be open to anyone who wished to pay their respects to Woolmer, Malik said.

 

President Pervez Musharraf in his condolence message to Woolmer's family paid tribute to the national coach.

 

"Bob Woolmer's services to the game will be long remembered by cricket fans," Musharraf said after the death.

 

Woolmer, 58, became Pakistan coach in 2004 and earned respect from many Pakistanis.

 

The death of Woolmer, also a former coach of South Africa, has sparked one of the most complex murder investigations in Jamaican history.

 

It also triggered speculation about possible links to match-fixing and illegal betting in cricket.

 

Around 50 officers are attempting to track down hundreds of potential witnesses who were either visiting or staying at Kingston's Pegasus Hotel in the days leading up to Woolmer's death.

(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)