March 25, 2007	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 5, 1428

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LONDON, March 24: The co-author of murdered Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer's planned book insisted on Saturday that it would not have contained any explosive revelations on match-fixing.

Ivo Tennant, writing in The Times newspaper, swiped at rumours that Woolmer was about to blow the whistle on corruption in the sport.

Speculation has swirled that the strangulation killing was carried out by criminals keen to avoid exposure in claims of match-fixing which may have arisen.

“Rumours that Bob Woolmer was murdered because he was harbouring information on match-fixing or an association with corrupt bookmakers can be dismissed unequivocally,” Tennant wrote.

“As the co-author of his autobiography and its planned sequel, for which a publisher had still to be found, I can state that he had no intention of writing or publicising any such detail in either this or his book on coaching and sports science, which will be published in June.”

Woolmer, 58, was found in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica on Sunday and declared dead in hospital, a day after Pakistan's shock defeat to Ireland saw the 1992 World Cup winners crash out of this year's competition.

A former England international, Woolmer was coach of South Africa when its then-captain Hansie Cronje was bought off by bookmakers in 1996, but was never alleged to have been involved himself.

“He had no knowledge of Hansie Cronje's involvement in match-fixing during his time as coach of South Africa, and, if there had been any such approach to his Pakistan players, he would have told them to report it immediately to the manager or Pakistan Cricket Board,” Tennant wrote.

“Doubtless he would then have informed the police himself.

“Above all, Woolmer was an honest man. He did not mix with dodgy individuals.

“Doubtless the reason why Cronje, when captain of South Africa, did not tell Woolmer of his underhand dealings was because he knew that his coach would have no truck with them.

“Anyone who thought about involving him in underhand dealings must have known it would have been futile.”

Meanwhile, The Daily Telegraph ran on its front page part of an email from Woolmer to a Pakistani journalist who asked not to be named, fearful for his life.

“I am going to write a book on my tenure as Pakistan coach. I shall only start after the World Cup,” it read.

“I believe, regardless of the money, the story is worth telling, has to be told and in a correct way.

“I am not a name and shame guy, just the honest facts. Let the punter make up his mind, etc.”

But match-fixing still exists in cricket, according to England captain Michael Vaughan.

Asked by The Sun tabloid on Saturday whether he believes match-rigging goes on in the world game, Vaughan said: “If I'm honest, yes, I think it does.”

The Sun said the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption Unit was investigating unusual betting patterns in Pakistan's World Cup defeat to the West Indies on March 13.

The daily tabloid said investigators were probing a theory that Pakistan could still have qualified for the second stage by beating Ireland and Zimbabwe but betting plans went awry after Pakistan lost to Ireland.

The Sun quoted Vaughan as saying he had never experienced match-fixing with any team he has played for, or with team-mates or opponents.

“But my gut feeling is that there is still some kind of corruption in the game,” he added.

“I feel it is very hard to clear corruption from cricket.”

Woolmer's body will remain in Jamaica while an inquest is conducted, Jamaican media reported, as sports fans reeled over the murder.—AFP