Woolmer book to examine 'fixing'

Bob was editing the orginal 600 pages a week before he died Co-author Tim Noakes

The book Bob Woolmer was working on at the time of his death is to have a special section on match-fixing added prior to publication.

And co-author Tim Noakes, professor of sports science at Cape Town University, said the print run is to be increased from 5,000 to 100,000.

Woolmer's original version did not include a section on match-fixing.

But Noakes claims he would have agreed to the additions which will look at one-day games played by South Africa.

"We would have mentioned match-fixing if Bob and I had thought in the past [that] there was a science about it," he said.

Woolmer coached South Africa during the 1990s, working closely with captain Hansie Cronje, whose admission in 2000 that he received money from bookmakers shocked the cricket world and led to him being banned for life.

The various matches are to be studied by scientist Thomas Gilfillan, who believes that you can predict the outcome of 70% of matches by examining the previous form of the two sides involved.

He will be focusing mainly on the other 30% - games won by the supposedly weaker side.

"Part of the reason is to shed new light on Cronje," said Noakes.

Woolmer, who was Pakistan's coach at the time of his death, was found strangled in his hotel room in Jamaica last month, prompting rumours that he was about to make information public about corruption in cricket.

Noakes is unimpressed by that theory, but does believe that Pakistan's match against Ireland, which condemned them to a first round exit from the World Cup, could have been fixed.

"The easiest view to take is that Bob was murdered because of match-fixing, but as coach he was totally irrelevant.

"Match-fixers kill match-fixers and the fact that his computer was not taken from his room does not add up. So it has to be something else," Noakes told The Times.

"My point is that the ICC [International Cricket Council] should be looking at matches in the past which could have been fixed.

"In horse racing, you back the horse which is heavily favoured in the last hour before the race.

"If it is the case that, as reported, the odds on Ireland beating Pakistan last month changed from 500-1 to 8-1 shortly before the start, then that match was probably fixed."

Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has denied any of their World Cup games were fixed.

"I can assure you that there is no truth at all in such allegations," he commented.