'Woolmer's death not linked to match-fixing'

JOHANNESBURG: A family friend of Bob Woolmer said on Friday he did not believe the murdered Pakistan coach's death was linked to match-fixing.   

Professor Tim Noakes, a South African sports scientist who worked with Woolmer during his time as coach of the country's national team and co-authored a forthcoming book with him on coaching, told Reuters Woolmer's death was not linked to match-fixing.   

"The news that he was murdered was completely unexpected and there can be no rational reason for it. But what Bob did or didn't know about match-fixing is irrelevant," Noakes said from Nairobi where he was attending a conference ahead of the world cross country championships.   

"Bob always used to say that exposing a few players would not help the fight against match-fixing, you have to target the people who are approaching the players. Bob didn't know more about match-fixing than anyone else involved in cricket and he would not have been able to change anything by himself," he said.

Woolmer was found unconscious in his Jamaican hotel room on Sunday and was declared dead at a hospital later that day.   

Jamaican police launched a murder inquiry on Thursday after reporting that his death was 'due to asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation'.