Murder claim rocks cricket showcase

By Simon Evans

KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) - Jamaican police launched a murder inquiry on Thursday into the death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer at the World Cup, saying he was strangled.

The death on Sunday was "due to asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation", according to a police statement read to a news conference at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston where Woolmer was found unconscious before he died on Sunday.

"Bob was a large man -- it would have taken some force," deputy commissioner Mark Shields said. "Hopefully we will bring the killers to justice as soon as possible. We will use every energy we possibly have to track down the killers."

A day before the 58-year-old Briton died, leading contenders Pakistan were eliminated from the World Cup by debutants Ireland in a result which stunned cricket.

The sport's governing body said the World Cup would continue despite the shock of Woolmer's murder which has completely overshadowed the seven-week tournament being played in the Caribbean for the first time.

'BETTING MAFIA'

There was growing media speculation on Thursday that Woolmer had fallen victim to a "betting mafia".

Asked about these suggestions, Shields said: "Everything you have heard would be a line of inquiry." He said no stone would be unturned into discovering why Woolmer was murdered.