Cricket News

Woolmer's body on way home to South Africa

Apr 27, 2007, 12:16 GMT

Johannesburg - The body of slain Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer was expected to arrive home in South Africa over the weekend from Jamaica, where he was found dead in his hotel room over a month ago following his team's loss to Ireland in a World Cup game.

South African media reported Woolmer's body was expected to arrive in the country by Sunday after leaving Kingston on Friday.

Woolmer, 58, was found strangled in his hotel in Kingston on March 18, the day after his Pakistan side lost to minnows Ireland, ending their World Cup hopes.

The body of the former England international and South African national coach was held in Jamaica for weeks while a murder investigation got underway.

An inquest into his death that was due to begin earlier this week in Jamaica was indefinitely postponed after what the coroner described as 'significant developments' in the case, paving the way for the return of his remains.

A Jamaican police spokesperson said a team of Jamaican officers would be travelling to South Africa in early May to speak with Woolmer's relatives and with South African police, SAPA news agency reported.

Woolmer's home was in Cape Town, where his wife Gill and sons Russell and Dale still live.

The motive for his murder has been the subject of intense speculation, with some commentators suspecting he was about to blow the lid on match-fixing in cricket. His wife has said she had no knowledge of any such plans on his part.