Hansie Cronje, Bob Woolmer were murdered: Clive Rice

Former South Africa captain Clive Rice has said that Bob Woolmer and Hansie Cronje were murdered.

In an interview to www.cricketcountry.com, the 63-year-old said, “I have no doubt whatsoever (that they were murdered). Around the time of Woolmer’s death, there were occasions when the entire Pakistan team were all out caught. All dismissals in an innings caught. What are the odds (of that happening)? It has happened very rar-ely in the history of the game.

“There were statements made after Bob’s death. First, we heard that the trachea had been damaged. Then we were told of a heart attack. How does a doctor say trachea damage first and then heart attack? It would have been disgraceful for the image of the World Cup organisers if a murder was revealed. We in South Africa made a mistake. We should have performed an autopsy on his body when it arrived in the country.”

Woolmer, the former England all-rounder, was coach of the Pakistan team when he was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica under mysterious circumstances during the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. It was suspected that Woolmer was killed as he had more knowledge about match-fixing and that he was planning to bring it out in the form of a book.

On Cronje’s death in an air crash in 2002, Rice said, “In Cronje’s case, the automated take-off and landing signals were switched off at the airports. I play golf with one of the judges, and got the final case report from him. I sent the report to a friend of mine who deals with air crashes in his official capacity. He told me how the signals had been switched off. In that respect, the case report was very fishy indeed.”

Cronje was South Africa’s widely-respected captain before he was banned for life for his role in match-fixing.