Bob Woolmer (File)

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Karachi - Pakistan on Thursday paid glowing tribute to their former coach Bob Woolmer on the third anniversary of his death, saying his progressive coaching made a huge impact on the game.

"On the third death anniversary of Woolmer, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wishes to pay tribute to a man who did so much for our cricket and whose progressive coaching made a huge impact on the game," the board announced.

Woolmer, 58, was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica on March 18, 2007, one day after Pakistan was sensationally knocked out of the World Cup following a shock defeat to outsiders Ireland.

Pakistani players came under intense investigation when Woolmer's death was initially treated as murder.

Some commentators insisted Woolmer was killed to stop him blowing the whistle on illegal betting, the curse of the game in Asia. But after a detailed inquiry Jamaican police declared Woolmer had died of natural causes.

PCB said the contribution of Woolmer, who remained coach from 2004 until his death and was also a former South African coach, will never be forgotten.

"Woolmer was a distinguished cricketer and coach whose contributions to the game and especially Pakistan cricket will never be forgotten," it said.

"More importantly Woolmer was an excellent human being who enriched the lives of all those that he came in contact with.

"He is and will always be missed. The entire Pakistan cricket community's thoughts and prayers are with the Woolmer family," PCB said.

To honour Woolmer, the PCB dedicated their indoor cricket school at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, which was inaugurated by the Pakistan and South African teams in October 2007, to their late coach.

This year's anniversary of his death comes with Pakistani players once again accused of match-fixing following a dismal tour of Australia where they lost all three Tests, five one-day and a T20 match.

Former captain Shoaib Malik and all-rounder Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were banned for one year - widely reported in the local media for match-fixing - a charge PCB denied.

Two other former captains, Younus Khan, who was closest to Woolmer, and Mohammad Yousuf, were banned indefinitely on charges of infighting, while the Akmal brothers (Kamran and Umer) and Shahid Afridi were heavily fined.

PCB on Wednesday sent charge sheets to the penalised players and gave them 30 days to appeal against the sanctions.