The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board has said that no Pakistani player is a suspect in the murder of coach Bob Woolmer. Dr Nasim Ashraf told Pakistani television channels that the Pakistan team members had been questioned by Jamaican police as part of a routine investigation into Woolmer's death.
The 58-year-old died on Sunday after he was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room the morning after his side's shock defeat by Ireland sent them crashing out of the tournament in the first round. "The police are questioning everyone in the hotel in the case. Even West Indian captain Brian Lara and official Clive Lloyd have given their statements," Ashraf said.
He also said there was no restriction on the movement of the Pakistan team and they had gone to Montego Bay from Kingston to relax after the traumatic events of the last few days.
"Woolmer's death is a big tragedy for us and a terrible loss and the players are very upset. They are not suspects," he said. Ashraf has submitted his resignation to the chief patron of the board, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, accepting responsibility for the dismal World Cup performance of the team.
PAKISTAN PLAYERS TO UNDERGO DNA TESTS:
Pakistan's cricketers and team officials will be swabbed for DNA on Friday by police as a routine exercise a day after police announced their coach Bob Woolmer was strangled. The Pakistan World Cup squad and management were finger-printed on Thursday at the Kingston Pegasus hotel, where Woolmer was murdered on Sunday.
They were supposed to undergo DNA tests on the same day but police allowed them to catch a flight to Montego Bay, where they are staying at the behest of the Jamaican Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller.
"It's one of those routine things they do, at least here in Jamaica as far as I'm informed," Pakistan media manager Pervez Mir told Reuters. "It's some sort of a swab that they put in your mouth and then put it in a plastic container. It takes about 25 seconds." There has been no indication from police that any of the team are suspects. The case has become one of the biggest-ever stories to hit cricket. Woolmer was found unconscious on his bathroom floor on Sunday morning by a maid.
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