ON Wednesday we published a poignant plea from Gill Woolmer, the widow of cricket coach Bob Woolmer on our front page.
We called her to ask for comment on the latest revelations concerning her husbands death during the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies earlier this year.
She responded: “I don’t see the need for this inquest. It’s just the same old, same old, over and over again.”
Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room shortly after his team, Pakistan, was eliminated from the cup by lowly Ireland.
His death sparked a frenzy of speculation fuelled by Pakistan’s notorious reputation for associating the game with betting.
Theories did the rounds along the lines that Woolmer had been murdered because he was about to blow the lid on a massive betting racket.
But, after exhaustive investigation by the police in the glare of international television cameras, no evidence of murder was found and it was concluded that he had died of natural causes.
Despite this, speculation, fueled by a fresh inquest, has continued to grind on, causing the Woolmer family unnecessary pain and turning to death of a great cricketer into a spectacle.
The release of a private email sent by Woolmer to his wife on the eve of his death was the latest of these events.
The poignant words: “Hi darling, feeling a little depressed” provided insight into Woolmer’s state of mind.
But did they add anything to the exhaustive archive of facts about Woolmer’s final moments or not?
Instead of raking over the coals of Woolmer’s life in an endless series of enquiries, the authorities need to end this inquest as soon as possible and lay the whole matter to rest.
We must remember Bob Woolmer, the batsman, father, husband and coach and put the circus that followed his death behind us.

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