Couched in mystery

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer's inexplicable death hogged media space over the past few days, with the regional media focusing its World Cup coverage on the issue.

Dainik Bhaskar speculated on the circumstances surrounding Woolmer's death, saying the former cricketer had wanted to get to the bottom of the match-fixing scandal. The paper reported that Woolmer had met Indian officials involved with the Hansie Cronje saga during the Indo-Pak series in March 2005. Woolmer, the paper added, was disturbed at the turn Cronje's career took after the scandal broke out, since he had played a large part in the former South African skipper's rise as South Africa coach.

The paper also reported that Pakistan's Geo TV has speculated that the likely cause of Woolmer's sudden death could have been poisoning, given that blood and vomit had been found on the walls of his hotel room. The channel went so far as to suggest, the paper added, that the match between Pakistan and West Indies may have been fixed, lending greater strength to the theory of bookies' involvement.

Dainik Jagran reminded readers that Woolmer was born in 1948 in Kanpur's Macrobert Hospital, which is across the road from Green Park, the Kanpur cricket ground. The paper visited the hospital and spoke to staff who recounted Woolmer's visit in 2005 when he was shown his birth certificate. The doctors recollected that Woolmer had visited the hospital's various divisions and spent a long time chatting up practitioners. This report was accompanied by a copy of Woolmer's birth certificate.

The World Cup grabbed front page attention in all the Kannada newspapers through the week. India's defeat by Bangladesh was the highlight of the coverage. All the newspapers dedicated sufficient space in their sports sections for cricket.

Leading dailies Vijaya Karnataka, Praja Vani and Kannada Prabha, were critical of the Indian team in their editorials, following the team's defeat. "The cricket players need to do justice to their iconic status. They should not forget that they have signed large endorsement deals. It seems their approach is not professional," Vijaya Karnataka said.

The death of Pakistan team coach Bob Woolmer too generated heat. The newspapers, in their editorials, suspected foul play. Prajavani said, "Not everything is going the right way for this World Cup. Barring a few teams like Australia and South Africa, there is lot of disappointment for India, Pakistan and England. The sportsmanspirit needs to rekindled."

Tamil daily Dinamalar has been carrying cricket related photos on Page 1 over the past week. The photographs included angered cricket fans destroying the under-construction house of M S Dhoni in Ranchi and burning effigies of cricket players after the defeat of Indian team by Bangladesh. The paper also carried a pictures of actor Mahima Chowdhury holding a cricket ball studded with diamonds made by a jewellery house in Mumbai, and a stunning catch by Bermuda's Leverock in the match against India.

The daily also reported on the mystery surrounding the death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer in the sports section. The edition dated March 22 carried a report relating to Woolmer's death along with his photo on Page 1.