Former Pakistan Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq Says He is Hurt By The Match Fixing Allegations Made Against His Team

Pakistan's World Cup captain Inzamam-ul-Haq spoke on Monday of his hurt and the pressure on players when match-fixing allegations were made against them in the wake of their early exit from the tournament.
Inzamam and senior officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appeared on Monday before a standing committee on sports of the National Assembly in Islamabad in which reasons for the World Cup debacle and the board affairs were dissected.
"I told them of the hurt I have felt since these match-fixing allegations have been made. I told them don't expect the younger players to perform under such pressure," Inzamam told Reuters.
He said that Pakistan had played badly and lost and this was part of the sport.
"But coming up with such allegations which basically questions our patriotism is not on and not good for our cricket," he said.
Pakistan were bundled out of the World Cup after losing to West Indies and later Ireland. Coach Bob Woolmer died in Kingston, Jamaica less than 24 hours after the Irish defeat with police investigators treating his death as murder.
Former Test paceman Sarfraz Nawaz and others have cast doubts on the performance of the team against West Indies
Wasim Bari, former chief selector, defended the selection of the team for the World Cup and said the selectors could not be held responsible if the players did not perform to expectations.
Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, was also grilled on the appointment of leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed as assistant coach of the team for the World Cup.
Mushtaq's appointment has been questioned as he was fined and named in the match-fixing inquiry carried out in Pakistan between 1998 and 2000.
Ashraf told the committee he had appointed Mushtaq on the recommendations of Woolmer and Inzamam.
Inzamam said he was not aware of the Justice Qayyum inquiry report saying that Mushtaq should not be appointed to any senior position or he would not have recommended him as assistant coach.
Ashraf told the committee that the board would be setting up a special commission of former test players to prepare a blueprint for bringing about improvement and consistency in Pakistan cricket.
He said the captain and coach would also be announced soon and the team's balance would be re-examined.
The board's ad-hoc committee meets in Lahore on Tuesday to discuss the future appointments of the Pakistan team.
Courtesy: CWCL

Pakistan captain tells of void left by Bob Woolmer

Bob Woolmer has left his undeniable print on Pakistan cricket and will never be forgotten by the players, Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said at a memorial service today.
"No one can ever really understand the void in the team he has left. He was a top-class coach and an even better human being," Inzamam told the congregation.
Candle lights burnt and floral wreaths were placed by a large portrait of Woolmer, smiling and wearing the Pakistan team T-shirt.
Some 200 people, including Governor of Punjab Khalid Maqbool, attended the service at the Sacred Heart Cathedral which was led by Archbishop of Lahore Lawrence Saldanha.
One of the wreaths was laid by the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board on behalf of the country's president Pervez Musharraf.
Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in his hotel room two weeks ago, a day after Pakistan were eliminated from the World Cup after a shock defeat by Ireland.
Woolmer, Pakistan's coach since 2004, died later in hospital and police in Jamaica are treating his death as murder.
Archbishop Saldanha said his sudden and tragic death had plunged the entire nation into sadness and sorrow. "Our heartfelt condolences and the sympathies of every Pakistani went out to Woolmer's mourning wife and his relatives," he added.
The PCB has announced that the main hall of the national cricket academy in Lahore has been named after Woolmer who preferred to live and work from one room in the academy throughout his tenure in Pakistan although he was entitled to five-star accommodation.
A memorial service will also be held on Thursday in Cape Town where Woolmer lived for over 20 years.
Courtesy: Reuters

Bob Woolmer's murder linked to Dawood, Al-Qaeda

Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer's mysterious death took a new twist with a media report in London linking his murder to Dawood Ibrahim and Al-Qaeda.A report in The Sun claimed a Pakistan-based bookie was thrown out of Woolmer's room after an altercation with the coach.The daily quoted sources claiming that the bookie, who had vanished after Woolmer's death on March 18, is an associate of Dawood Ibrahim, who is wanted over funding Al-Qaeda and also for the 1993 Mumbai blasts.The report quoted intelligence officials, who tour with the Indian cricket team, as saying that the bookie was seen at the World Cup in Jamaica with Dawood's brother Anees Ibrahim.Jamaican officials, however, said they were not told by the Pakistani cricketers about any such row between the coach and the bookie. The report, however, claimed that two Pakistani players, in their statement to the police, did mention about the furious bust-up."Bob Woolmer said he had thrown a bookie out of his room. He didn''t give a reason," an official said. Deputy Commissioner of Jamaican Police Mark Shields said, "This issue has come up before but we have so far been unable to substantiate it.""But we are prepared to consider it further now that we have names and more details. We will be investigating." Woolmer was found strangled in his 12th floor room of the Pegasus Hotel room on March 18, hours after Pakistan's shock World Cup defeat against minnows Ireland.
Courtesy: Indiadaily