Woolmer inquest to start on April 23

An inquest into the death of Bob Woolmer has been set for April 23. Patrick Murphy, the Kingston coroner, will conduct a hearing at the Jamaica Conference Centre and, according to The Times, a dozen or more witnesses are expected to testify.

Woolmer was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room on March 18 and was pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital. Five days later Jamaican authorities confirmed the cause of death to be asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation and the police are investigating it as a murder case. The inquest was ordered on March 24 and, The Times said, it will be the first time that a detailed account of what is known of Woolmer's final hours and the discovery of his body has been aired in public.

The CCTV footage from the Pegasus hotel, where the Pakistan team had stayed and where Woolmer died , has been sent to the UK for "further consideration", Karl Angell, the Jamaica Police spokesman, was quoted as saying by the BBC.

Meanwhile Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan captain, has criticised the security arrangements at the Pegasus. "Four international teams were staying in one hotel - what security arrangements were made for them", Inzamam asked in an interview with Geo TV. "There should be an investigation," he added.

Inzamam took full responsibility for Pakistan's shock defeat to Ireland in the World Cup and insisted that the team was not bad, it was just that they had played badly. Inzamam, who retired from one-dayers to concentrate on Tests, said that he would not reverse his decision to retire and that he had no problem playing under any captain.