A confused fraternity

Naseem Ashraf, who tendered his resignation as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board PCB soon after the humiliating defeat, said Friday that the players were not facing any restrictions on their movements and would return home soon. 8220;The Bob Woolmer case is under investigation, but I want to make it clear that there is no suspicion on the Pakistani team,8221; Ashraf said in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

8220;That is the reason that Pakistan8217;s team left Kingston, Jamaica, last night. And now the Pakistani team is in Montego Bay,8221; he said. 8220;Our players are under severe stress and trauma and they will rest until tomorrow, and then they will come back to Pakistan.8221;

Ashraf said Jamaican police have interviewed all those who had contact with Woolmer, including West Indies skipper Brian Lara and manager Clive Lloyd, as the Pakistani and West Indies sides were at the same hotel at the time of his death.

Also Friday, Pakistan8217;s foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said that one of its diplomats from Washington had been dispatched to Jamaica.

Pakistan has no diplomatic presence in Jamaica, and Aslam said a diplomat assigned by the ministry will interact with the authorities in Jamaica over the issue of Woolmer8217;s death.

Police announced late Thursday that a pathologist8217;s report found Woolmer8217;s death was due to 8220;asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation.8221; They launched a homicide investigation and were reviewing security cameras at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel and urging witnesses to come forward.

Former Pakistan cricketers appealed to their government to send lawyers to the West Indies to assist the team. 8220;I couldn8217;t have imagined even in my dreams that it could turn out to be a murder case,8221; ex-Test captain and Pakistan8217;s 1992 World Cup winning coach Intikhab Alam said. 8220;You can8217;t have more shocking news than this.8221;

Alam said the Pakistan team needed legal help. 8220;Those who are travelling with the Pakistan team are not capable enough to handle this issue,8221; Alam said. 8220;I think the Pakistan government should send lawyers to assist the team.8221;

David Morgan, England and Wales Cricket Board chairman and ICC director declined to comment on speculation that Woolmer8217;s murder may have been linked to alleged match-fixing. Morgan told the BBC that cricket was 8220;a much cleaner game than it once was8221; thanks to the efforts of the ICC8217;s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.

But he added: 8220;The amount of money spent on gambling on cricket is still at an incredibly high level. I don8217;t believe that matches are fixed any longer, but there8217;s a great deal of money spent on gambling about other aspects of the game 8212; the score after a particular number of overs, how many wides or no-balls are bowled and so on.8221;

Ahsan Malik, PCB director of communications, said the last time he communicated with the Pakistan team, they were in Montego Bay and were scheduled to fly home on Saturday. 8220;All the team management and the players are cooperating with the Jamaican police in carrying out their investigations and we would continue to do so,8221; Malik said.

International Cricket Council chief executive Malcolm Speed had earlier said he was shocked that the death was being investigated as murder and called for the World Cup to continue in his memory.

8220;When we first learned of Bob8217;s death a wave of sadness washed over the whole of the cricket community,8221; Speed said. 8220;That sadness has now been replaced with a profound sense of shock at the news that his death is being treated as murder.8221;

Speed said the tournament will continue to 8220;demonstrate that cricket cannot be put off by a cowardly criminal act.

8220;If the players and officials of all the competing teams can do that, then it would be a fitting tribute to Bob Woolmer and the contribution he has made to our sport as a fine player and an outstanding coach at all levels.8221;

World Cup chief executive officer Chris Dehring said security had been reviewed and teams were content with the arrangements. 8220;On that basis, it is up to the Jamaica Constabulary Force to get on with its job,8221; he said.

Retired English Test umpire Harold 8220;Dickie8221; Bird told BBC TV that Woolmer8217;s death would overshadow the World Cup. 8220;There8217;s a real dark shadow over the World Cup,8221; he said. But, 8220;I think Bob would have wanted it to carry on.8221;

Bird said he could not understand why anybody would want to harm the former England Test batsman, who had also coached South Africa and worked with smaller teams all around the world.

8220;I8217;m absolutely stunned,8221; Bird said. 8220;He was such a charming man, a wonderful man. This is a very, very sad day for world cricket.8221;