Almost eighteen hours after announcing that Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer had indeed been murdered, Jamaica police have yet to make an arrest or name suspects. The Pakistan players and officials will undergo DNA testing after which they are expected to leave the Caribbean for home. The investigators, meanwhile, are keeping the probe open-ended in trying to arrive at possible motives and a definitive picture of how the murder occurred.During a press conference in Jamaica on Thursday police confirmed Woolmer was strangled in his hotel room on Sunday and that he showed few signs of struggling with his attackers.”The pathologist’s report states that Mr Woolmer’s death was due to asphyxiation as a result of manual strangulation,” Karl Angell, the police spokesman, said. “In these circumstances, the matter of Mr Woolmer’s death is now being treated by the Jamaica police as a case of murder.”Mark Shields, Jamaica’s deputy commissioner of police, is now heading the investigation and said there were many lines of inquiry. “Bob is a large man and it would take some significant force to strangle him, but we don’t know at this point how many people were in his room,” he said. “There was very little evidence of a struggle.”In an interview with BBC Radio, Shields said that it was difficult to believe that the murder could have been committed by a stranger. “It is imperative that we keep an open mind, but I have to say at this stage it looks as if it may be somebody somehow linked to him, because clearly he let somebody into his hotel room and it may be that he knew who that person was.”When asked why it had taken so long to prove the case of strangulation Shields said: “There were no visible signs in this particular case and we had to make sure.”Shields said there was no reason why the Pakistan team would be detained in Jamaica, “but we’re ruling nothing out”. He said the coroners would decide whether Woolmer’s body would be allowed to travel back with the team on Saturday. “I have a meeting with them in morning,” Shields said.Woolmer was pronounced dead at 12.14pm on Sunday, but Shields said “there were no visible signs of life when found”. “He went to his room at 8.30pm in the evening and was found by a chamber maid at 10.45am. We don’t have a time of death as of now, but I would say it’s closer towards the time he was found.”When asked if there were any other injuries Shields said: “There were some other issues around the body which we’ll take time to look at and examine.”Vomit and blood was also found in the room, but Shields was still waiting for the toxicology and histology results. “A full forensic examination of the body in the room was done for finger prints,” he said. “We have sealed all CCTV records as well as all electronic records. Calls to the room, calls from his mobile all have been checked.”Shields said Scotland Yard, his former employers, had offered its assistance and he would take it “should we need it”. Woolmer held a British passport, but split most of his time since taking the Pakistan job living in Lahore and Cape Town.”We’re also in touch with Pakistan and South African police,” Shields said. “The ICC has offered us all assistance [with regard to the Anti-Corruption Unit] and we’re exploring every avenue.”Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, confirmed at the conference the World Cup would continue and they would not be “put off by a cowardly criminal act”. “This is not the first time that tragedy has visited a sporting event,” Speed said, “but what we must all do now is to show how resolute the game is by proving ourselves strong enough to move on from what has happened.”Meanwhile, Pakistan have announced that a diplomat from Washington will arrive in Jamaica to interact with the police. “We do not have any diplomatic presence in Jamaica and we have decided to send a senior official from our Washington mission to interact with the Caribbean authorities,” Tasnim Aslam, a foreign ministry spokeswoman, told AFP. She added that Pakistan’s Washington embassy was accredited to handle affairs in Jamaica.

It says much about how South Africa’s World Cup campaign has unravelledthat most of the questions Graeme Smith fielded at the pre-match pressconference concerned an alleged drinking binge hours after the team hadbeen easily beaten by New Zealand. Given England’s own alcohol-relatedwoes earlier in the competition, it was no surprise that someone snidely referred to Tuesday’s encounter as the Drinking World Championship.Whatever the billing, it’s a contest that South Africa simply have to win, and Smith was certain that it would be “a very explosive game”.South Africa lost their group game to Australia, but it was subsequentreverses against Bangladesh and New Zealand that pushed them to the brink of elimination. Losing the toss against New Zealand in Grenada didn’t help but Smith accepted that the team had to shoulder much of the blame.”We haven’t adapted as well as we should have,” he said. “We need a bit of luck as well. We haven’t always got the better end of the wickets, and haven’t played to our potential. But if we win the next three games, we win the World Cup. We haven’t achieved our level in this tournament, which has been disappointing, but we know if we perform, we can turn it all around.”They’ll certainly fancy their chances against a side that they’ve beaten 21 times in 34 matches – 11 defeats – but Smith conceded that England had the advantage of being more familiar with the conditions at the Kensington Oval. “England have played here before, this is our first time here,” he said. “Adaptability will be the key tomorrow. The pace and bounce will suit us but we’ve got to find our feet early.”His assertion that South Africa were the more consistent outfit iscertainly borne out by facts, and the one-day rankings, but all that will count for little in what has effectively become a knockout game. South Africa will ring the changes after the defeat against New Zealand, with both Justin Kemp and Charl Langeveldt coming into the reckoning. Robin Peterson appears set to miss out, as could Ashwell Prince if South Africa decide to play the extra bowler.Smith will be under the spotlight in more ways than one. Back in 2003,Nasser Hussain’s reference to him as Wotzisname provided the incentive for two magnificent double-centuries, and his less-than-shy approach hasn’t always won him admirers. Under his captaincy though, South Africa have gone a long way to ridding themselves of the choker tag.

“There’ll be a lot of heat and pressure on both sides,” Smith said. “If we win tomorrow, we’ll put a lot of things behind us. But winning tomorrow isn’t winning the World Cup. It’ll be a good start, take us to semis and we’ll take it from there.”Smith identified Kevin Pietersen as the chief threat. “He is one of the best one-day players at the moment,” he said. “He’s a vital cog in their set-up and we have respect for his cricketing ability. We’ll look to knock him over early. We have plans for him as we have for everyone else. We’ve got to be well prepared and we will be well prepared.”The incident in Grenada – It’s alleged that Smith and some of histeam-mates nearly came to blows with hecklers – was brushed aside, though it’s doubtful whether it will stay under the carpet if South Africa exit the competition on Tuesday. “I have no issue with some guys going out and blowing off steam,” Smith said. “It’s a long tournament, but we do have drinking rules. If we don’t go over it and push the limits, I have no issues.”According to Smith, the rules speak of “calming down two days before the game”, and he stressed that there wasn’t a problem within the squad. “We’ve been the quietest team in the World Cup, probably due to where we’ve been based,” he said with a grin, perhaps a reference to England’s antics in St Lucia. “Attacking our guys for one night of relaxation is not the done thing.”The incident has led to some like Kepler Wessels, who led South Africa at the 1992 World Cup, asking for stern action to be taken against theoffenders, but Smith wasn’t about to lose his Monday night’s sleep overthe comments. “It’s hard to find something Kepler doesn’t have an issuewith,” he said with a laugh. “He’s always there when we lose, and he’ssomewhere else when we win.”For the moment, he has far weightier issues on his mind. A month ago,South Africa were atop the one-day rankings and all was well with theworld. But if they slip up at this historic venue tomorrow, as they did so memorably against Walsh and Ambrose in their first post-isolation Test, 18 months of hard work and excellent results will mean almost nothing.”We’ve not played the cricket we are capable of,” Smith said withcharacteristic candour. “We’ve got to look at our cricket and see whywe’ve not played well.” On Tuesday, those last chance saloon headlineswill be appropriate in more ways than one.

Extremely disappointing. That was the general consensus from three former regional players after West Indies’ humiliating defeat by an innings and 283 runs at Headingley, their worst ever.Deryck Murray, the former West Indies wicketkeeper who is currently the Trinidad & Tobago board president, felt the “unfortunate” loss of experienced batsmen Shivnarine Chanderpaul and captain Ramnaresh Sarwan was no excuse for the huge margin of defeat, and the “frightening gap that we really have to close”.”We really need, and I’m saying … I’m a board member, and I’m saying this to the other board members, we need to stop talking and actually do things that will kick start our development and get us to a [competitive] state,” said Murray. “We have had defeats all over…at Headingley, at Lord’s, we’ve had them everywhere. That’s not good enough for West Indies cricket.”Tony Gray, former West Indies fast bowler and T&T Under-19 coach, was unhappy as well. “It’s a disappointment for me,” said Gray “being not just a West Indies cricket fan, but a former player, to see us perform that way. Even if Sarwan was out through injury, we should have shown a little more resolve, a little more fight.”He said changes needed to be made for the third Test on June 7. He suggested that fast bowlers Ravi Rampaul and Fidel Edwards be given a chance. Gray felt that even if he was injured, Sarwan should remain on tour, if only in a motivational role to help with the team’s confidence.Joey Carew, a former chairman of selectors, blamed the batsmen’s technique for their meek surrender. “It is obvious without the services of Sarwan and Chanderpaul the batting will be weakened, but this had nothing to do with them. They have to look at their technique, and look at the way they play. At the moment, it doesn’t look like they have that knowledge.”

Nasim Ashraf, chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), and Enver Baig, senator and member of Senate Standing Committee on Sports, have withdrawn their charges that were levied due to the recent statements made against each other.A committee meeting was held yesterday under the chairmanship of Tahir Mashahdi in Islamabad which Ashraf was asked to attend. In the course of the meeting, Baig withdrew his recent allegations against the PCB chairman when he had called the PCB chief a “dishonest and incompetent person.” In response, Ashraf expressed his regrets over dubbing Baig a ‘sick man’ in a recent statement and also assured the committee that he will withdraw the legal notice served on the senator.The committee has summoned a requisitioned meeting on June 26, according to Baig, in which the PCB chairman will answer various questions relating to the financial and administrative affairs of the board. Ashraf has also been asked to produce the details of PJ Mir’s package that was offered to him as the media manager of Pakistan cricket team during the World Cup.PCB is currently involved in placing a coach for the national team before it departs for the short tour of Scotland as well as offering central contracts for which a list of 30 has already been handed over by the selection committee.

Muttiah Muralitharan says “winning the series” will be his main focus on the tour of Australia in November, but he is also keen on becoming Test cricket’s most successful bowler. His tally of 683 wickets leaves him 25 short of Shane Warne’s record of 708.Murali will play in two more matches against Bangladesh in the ongoing home series, and he could head to Australia within touching distance of Warne’s mark. Warne retired from internationals at the end of the Ashes in January.”I am looking forward to playing in the Test matches and maybe it [the record] will happen there, but the main focus is winning the series, which we have not done in Australia,” Muralitharan told . Murali has confirmed his availability for the matches in Brisbane from November 8 and Hobart from November 16.Murali has had a controversial relationship with Australia ever since he was called for throwing by the umpire Darrell Hair in the 1995 Boxing Day Test. Four years later, Ross Emerson also called him in an ODI at Adelaide. When the Sri Lankans walked off the field after the second incident, only an intervention by the respective boards and the ICC saved the tour.He has also had to endure some rough treatment from the crowds in reaction to these on-field episodes. Murali had decided against touring Australia in the 2004 after John Howard, the Australian prime minister, labelled him a “chucker”.”I was disappointed with what the Australian prime minister said,” he said ahead of the second Test against Bangladesh which starts on Tuesday. Muralitharan was well received in Australia during the tsunami fund-raising match at the MCG in 2005 and returned later in the year for the Super Series.

The MCC suffered an embarrassing – and rare – defeat at a special general meeting last week when a motion tabled by members to check the actions of the committee was passed by 4121 votes to 2741.The action came after a row over the club reducing seating available to members. The members insisted that the club had to consult them first, a claim disputed by the MCC.The MCC has formed a working party who will interpret the results of the motion passed by the membership and bring a recommendation to the annual general meeting in May 2008.

England seamer Stuart Broad has signed with Nottinghamshire from 2008, the county where his father Chris opened the batting for nine seasons. He joins on a four-year contract.There had been plenty of speculation in recent weeks about whether Broad would remain at Leicestershire and it does not come as a huge surprise that he has moved to a county on the verge of promotion and based at a Test ground.”I’m proud to have represented Leicestershire since I first appeared in their Under-nine representative side and I owe the county a lot,” he said. “But I just feel that the time is right for a change and the chance to move to Trent Bridge is very attractive to me. I believe there is no better place for me to play – and continue my improvement as a cricketer in a team capable of winning trophies.”People will automatically assume that I’ve chosen Nottinghamshire because I grew up on the boundary edge while my dad was there as a player, but it is very much my decision to move to Trent Bridge.”Chris Broad confirmed to Cricinfo that he had no hand in the move: “I had no influence on him coming to Notts. All I said to him is that he must go with his gut feelings after all he’s the one who has got to go out in the middle and perform therefore he’s got to be happy.”I am obviously delighted that everything has been signed and sealed quickly so that the speculation doesn’t drag on whilst Stuart is actively playing. Notts has been, and remains, a well-organised, friendly club but deeply ambitious. All that remains for them to do is get promoted to the first division!”Broad junior admitted he had considered waiting until the end of the season to find out if Nottinghamshire had been promoted. “It was a thought but once I decided where I wanted to play, it didn’t really matter either way. I’m confident they’ll go up.”Mick Newell said Nottinghamshire had to fight off a lot of interest of other counties. “As soon as we knew that Stuart would be available we had to be interested – but so were a lot of other counties. I know that he’s had some very good offers to consider and we’re delighted he has agreed to join us.”He’s the best young prospect in this country and further down the line, I’m sure he will be a regular in the England team. But he’s still very young with a lot to learn and we’re really pleased that he has chosen to do that with us.”Despite Broad’s rise into the England team, Newell believes he will still be available for a significant amount of county cricket. “If Stuart was already playing regularly in the England team, I would have thought more carefully about signing him,” he said. “But I think Peter Moores wants him to play more county cricket and develop his game.”We can help him do that and he can certainly help us. Bowling on Trent Bridge pitches with their carry, bounce and swing will suit his style and having him available is an exciting prospect for next season.”Obviously Stuart has a strong affiliation with Trent Bridge because his father Chris opened the batting for Notts for many years, but I’m not sure that influenced his decision too much. He’s an ambitious young man who is determined to make his own mark in the game.”Jeremy Snape, Leicestershire’s club captain, added: “It is very disappointing for us. He’s been outstanding and exceeded expectations throughout the last few years. He obviously feels it’s a personal decision and the next stage in his career.”

Brett Lee was at one corner of the ground, batting at a practice net, launching balls deep into the outfield, hitting repeatedly over cow corner. Brad Hogg and Nathan Bracken were sprinting right across the length of the ground. Adam Gilchrist was moving to his left and right, taking catches as someone glided the ball off fierce throws from Mike Young. Hogg was bowling at one stump with Troy Cooley gathering the ball.Looking at the Australian team practice, different people doing different things in all directions, you wouldn’t have a clue what they were up to. But they certainly do.Ricky Ponting, speaking after the win in Vadodara, put their win down to the preparation they put in soon after the loss in Chandigarh. Looking at their practice, there promises to be no let-up for the Indians. In the past teams have managed to sneak a few wins in against Australia in dead rubbers, but Sunday’s sixth ODI at Nagpur is anything but a dead rubber. It’s a chance for Australia to win the series, and equally it’s a chance for India to play freely, with nothing to lose and everything to gain, and enjoy the slight lessening of pressure, if such a thing exists in this cricket-crazy country.While Australia are relentless in their application of pressure on the opposition on the field, they are not machines in the manner in which they prepare. Given the heat in which they’ve had to play some of these games, and the travel that’s been involved, they’ve been careful to give themselves the right workloads at the right times.”Once we’ve got into this series, with only two days between games, we haven’t trained that hard physically. We’ve worked very hard on our skills and making sure we’ve got our skills right for each game and for the different conditions we’re playing in,” explained Ponting. “Today we had a team meeting back at the hotel and an optional training session.”It’s really up to the players to come down to training and get whatever they want out of training. The coach, physio and fitness trainer sit down a day in advance and map out what sort of training will be ideal for us. Then they leave it to the players to get what they want from the training.”The Australian team got Friday completely off, with only travel interrupting what would have been a day for rest and recuperation. And Ponting believed that days like this were crucial to preparation, but cautioned that it might not be the best thing for all teams in all circumstances. “It depends where you are as a team. If you’re struggling as a team and certain individual players are struggling then there probably shouldn’t be days off,” he said. “Those players [who are struggling] themselves should want to get out there and do something about their game.”If you do get a day off you should use it properly. Rather than sitting around and doing nothing it’s a chance to get to the gym or the pool and get some work done. As long as it’s in your interests and your best preparation for the game that’s all you should be thinking about.”

A critical factor in Australia’s success in this series has been the effectiveness of their new-ball attack. Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee have left a gaping hole in the Indian top order in all but the Chandigarh match. It’s no coincidence that it was the only game India won. Johnson and Lee have 14 wickets between them, at an economy rate well under five an over.Some credit here must go to Troy Cooley, the bowling coach, who has put in the hard yards with both these bowlers, and Ponting acknowledged this. “Troy has been terrific since he’s been back in Australia, after spending a couple of years with the England team where he did a great job. I actually grew up with Troy and played all my club cricket with him so I know him very well and our relationship is very strong,” he said. “If you talk to any of the fast bowlers he has been associated with in the last couple of years they all say the same thing, that he’s very thorough, very professional, knows a lot about fast bowling. Mitchell Johnson will be the first to say that he’s got a lot of help from Troy in his career.”While preparation is a bare minimum, it’s execution of these plans that makes the difference between winning and losing. That said, the Indian board needs to take a hard to look at how they have allowed this team to prepare for success. Playing against the best team in the world the Indians have no coach, and a cricket manager who was only appointed for the series at the last moment. Fortunately the team has a settled support staff when it comes to physical fitness, some of whom work harder than the some of the players, but when it comes to skill training you have to ask if this Indian team has all the support it needs.To say that India won in England without a coach is neither here nor there. When they take the field for the last two games the Indians can still win and upset the pundits’ prediction. But it will be despite not having the best preparation, not because of it.

Scorecard

David Hussey made a sparkling start to the season with a fine century as Victoria reached 5 for 291 against South Australia. The Bushrangers’ coach Greg Shipperd has been pushing Hussey for international honours and the batsman showed his skills during the 178-ball 104.Hitting 14 fours and a six that brought up three figures, he moved Victoria away from the early danger of 2 for 48 and pushed them towards a formidable target. Hussey had a willing partner in Cameron White, who struck a powerful 76, including a six over one of the Chappell stands off the legspinner Cullen Bailey.South Australia found some energy with the second new ball to restrict the damage and Hussey was bowled by Jason Gillespie to end the 152-run stand. In the next over Ryan Harris picked up White and it was the second time Victoria had lost two quick wickets.Robert Quiney (25) was run-out by Jason Borgas’ direct hit in the morning session and was followed by Nick Jewell (20) when he padded up to Mark Cosgrove.