DateLine: 30th October 2007

Controversial government pathologist Ere Sheshiah was criticized for not following usual global practices on the 10th day of an inquest into the death of former Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer.

Monday's pressure came from from Jermaine Spence, the attorney representing the International Cricket Council, who questioned why anyone should accept his findings of wrongdoing in Woolmer's death.

Sheshiah performed the post-mortem on Woolmer, who was pronounced dead at the University of the West Indies hospital on March 18, hours after he was found unconscious in his Jamaica hotel room.

Woolmer was discovered a day after Pakistan was knocked out of the cricket World Cup in embarrassing style by minnows Ireland.

Sheshiah was criticized for not following international practice in the post-mortem by reviewing pathologists Lorna Martin of South Africa, Nathaniel Cary of Britain and Michael Pallanen of Canada, who studied video and photos.

Sheshiah, who was the only person with access to the body, said under questioning that there are times when one can divert from global practice to satisfy themselves.

"The person who examines the bone can say whether it's broken or not, not somebody who analyzes a photo," he said.

That led to lengthy questioning by Spence, who attacked the doctor's credibility, saying his findings were unreliable and wondering how anyone could accept his findings when he said the hyoid bone was fractured when it was not.

"I have already told the court of my opinion, so I am not deviating," Sheshiah replied.

Sheshaiah originally had said Woolmer's hyoid bone was fractured, which indicated the former England player was strangled.

But when given the X-ray in court last week, he admitted he made a mistake, then insisted the hyoid bone in a 58-year-old man don't have to be broken to prove that he was strangled.

Sheshiah told the court last week regarding the cause of death that, "My final opinion is it was asphyxia, associated with cypermethrin poisoning."

When police said they were treating the former England player's death as murder after Sheshiah's report, it sparked speculation that the case could be linked to corruption in international cricket.

In June, however, Jamaican authorities said they were no longer treating the death as homicide.

The inquest, presided over by coroner Patrick Murphy and 11 jurors, is expected to end on November 9. Testimony continues on Tuesday.

(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)