AP News, April 1st, 2007
Muslims joined Christians in observing a minute of silence, lighting candles and offering prayers in a memorial for slain Pakistani cricket coach Bob Woolmer on Sunday.
About 200 people, including cricket players and officials, attended the service at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in the eastern city of Lahore, the home of Pakistani cricket.
Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica on March 18 and pronounced dead at the hospital on the morning after his team's elimination from the Cricket World Cup in a surprising loss to Ireland.
Jamaican police said Woolmer was strangled.
"God rest you, Bob, God rest you, and until we meet again, goodbye," said Rev. Lawrence Saldanha, the Catholic archbishop of Lahore, who led the prayers for Woolmer.
"Our heartfelt condolences and sympathies go out to his mourning wife and relatives. We pray that God may grant them comfort and strength to bear this tragic loss," Saldanha said.
Earlier, a minute of silence was observed and chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Naseem Ashraf, lit two candles and put flowers in front of a portrait of Woolmer. The memorial was organized by the PCB but was open to the public.
Pakistan team captain Inzamam-ul-Haq offered flowers on behalf of his team members.
Inzamam resigned as captain and stepped down from international cricket following the team's humiliating ouster from the World Cup tournament.
"It is very hard to say something about a person who has been very close to you. The feelings I have are hard to explain," Inzamam said in his tributes.
"He was an excellent coach, but he was even a better human being," said the burly, bearded batsman.
Speaking at the memorial, Ashraf described Woolmer's loss as the "death of (a) family member."
"He was like a shepherd who always looked after his flock," said Ashraf, who was asked by Pakistani president Gen. Pervez Musharraf to continue in his job after he offered to resign over the World Cup rout.
Ashraf said over the weekend that Pakistan will send two senior investigators to Jamaica to observe or assist in the investigation into Woolmer's death.
At a press conference Saturday at PCB headquarters in Lahore, Ashraf said that he was "100 percent" confident that no Pakistani player was involved in the death.
