JOHANNESBURG, March 23: A family friend of Bob Woolmer said on Friday he did not believe the murdered Pakistan coach's death was linked to match-fixing. Professor Tim Noakes, a South African sports scientist who worked with Woolmer during his time as coach of the country's national team and co-authored a forthcoming book with him on coaching, told Reuters Woolmer's death was not linked to match-fixing.“The news that he was murdered was completely unexpected and there can be no rational reason for it. But what Bob did or didn't know about match-fixing is irrelevant,” Noakes said from Nairobi where he was attending a conference ahead of the world cross country championships.
“Bob always used to say that exposing a few players would not help the fight against match-fixing, you have to target the people who are approaching the players.
“Bob didn't know more about match-fixing than anyone else involved in cricket and he would not have been able to change anything by himself.”
Meanwhile, a trust fund in memory of Woolmer has been established in South Africa, it was announced on Friday.The Bob Woolmer Trust Fund will raise money for a number of projects, including a coaching academy, that the former England cricketer was involved in at the time of his death.
The Bob Woolmer Cricket Academy will be built near Nelspruit, close to South Africa's border with Mozambique, and will open its doors in 2008, according to a news release circulated on Friday.
The academy will teach Woolmer's coaching philosophy to both cricketers and coaches and will also involve children from underprivileged communities.
The trust will also ensure Woolmer's book, co-written with sports scientist Professor Tim Noakes, Discovering Cricket: The Art and Science of the Game is published. The final manuscript arrived in the West Indies the day after Woolmer died in Kingston, Jamaica.
The press release said the trust would also provide financial security for his wife, Gill, and sons Dale and Russell.
A website, www.bobwoolmer.org has also been set up, which details the workings of the trust.
Former South African cricketers Jonty Rhodes and Barry Richards, Noakes and wife Gill are the founding trustees.