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| March 31, 2007 | Saturday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 11, 1428 |
Public memorial service for Woolmer on Wednesday
CAPE TOWN, March 30: Murdered Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer is to be bid a final farewell at a public memorial service in Cape Town on Wednesday, organisers said. The event is to be held at the Wynberg Boy's high school, with speakers to include former South African cricketer Allan Donald, and Tim Noakes of the Sport Science Institute of South Africa with whom Woolmer co-authored a book on the art and science of cricket.
“The service will be led by Reverend Jerome Francis who was coached by Bob from the age of 11,” said a statement issued on behalf of Woolmer's family.
Woolmer, 58, was a previous coach of the South African national team and had lived in Cape Town for over 20 years.
The choir will be from the Langa community and there will also be speakers from the Avendale Cricket Club, both of whom benefited enormously from Woolmer's coaching in previously disadvantaged communities.
There will be a separate designated area for close friends of the Woolmer family who live in the Cape Town area.
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 shock defeat to minnows Ireland.
The killing has sparked one of the most complex murder investigations in Jamaican history and has 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.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board will also organise a memorial service for the late coach in Lahore on Sunday.
The service will be held at Sacred Heart Cathedral, 1-Lawrence Road, adjacent to St Anthony's School from 12:00 noon to 1:00pm.
The public has been invited to participate in the service and pay their last respects for the departed soul. —Agencies
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