The dark underbelly of world cricket

AFP, March, 2007

NEW DELHI (AFP) — The murder of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has highlighted the dark side of a sport once known as the gentleman's game but which is now plagued by underworld match-fixing gangs.

Jamaica police, while confirming that Woolmer was strangled to death a day after Pakistan were knocked out of the World Cup following their loss to unfancied Ireland, have ruled out mugging as a likely motive.

The police have stressed they do not suspect anyone yet of the crime, but fingers are once again being pointed at the powerful betting and match-fixing mafia that has become synonymous with cricket.

A notorious gangster Babloo Srivastava brazenly appeared on Indian television channels on Thursday to suggest that the country's most wanted man, Dawood Ibrahim, may...