The Master of prose in Sports,Peter Roebuck is no more.
He is reported to have jumped to his death in a Hotel in South Africa where he was covering the Australia -South Africa series.
Stories suggest that he was questioned by the Police in connection with a sexual harassment case filed a maid a la Kahn,however officials are tight-lipped about this.
Now it transpires that a charge of indecent assault has been filed by a man befriended by Roebuck on Facebook and Roebuck is reported to have attempted to seduce the man on the promise of granting him a Scholarship at the university.
British cricket writer and television commentator Peter Roebuck who was found dead at his Cape Town hotel committed suicide, the police said on Sunday.
But it emerged on Sunday that there could be a link between the retired cricketer’s death and a indecent assault charge brought against him earlier that day.
Police said the renowned writer, who was in Cape Town for the two–Test series between South Africa and Australia, was found dead on Saturday.
National police spokesperson Col Vishnu Naidoo on Sunday confirmed that an inquest docket into the death of the British official had been opened.
He said: “The purpose of the inquest docket is to determine the circumstances surrounding the death, which will include the time and cause of death.”
Naidoo would not answer any further questions relating to the indecent assault charge.
But when The New Age queried an indecent assault charge laid at Claremont police station and spoke to Capt Malusi Mgxwathi on Sunday, Mgxwathi said: “This is the same man who committed suicide at the hotel.”
The New Age source – who on Sunday spoke on condition of anonymity – said Roebuck jumped to his death when he was informed that a complaint of a sexual nature had been made against him by a friend whom he met on Facebook.
Roebuck 55, who arrived in Cape Town from Pietermaritzburg earlier last week, allegedly met the 26-year-old male a few days ago.
The pair later met at the hotel, where they were allegedly meant to discuss a possible university sponsorship for the male Zimbabwean.
The New Age source said Roebuck allegedly tried to seduce the Facebook friend and have sex with him against his will.
The man reportedly went to Claremont police station and laid charges of indecent assault against Roebuck. When police confronted Roebuck in his hotel at about 9pm on Saturday, with the intention of effecting an arrest, the British man allegedly asked to be allowed to change his clothes. In the process he managed to move close to a window and jumped out.
http://thenewage.co.za/34958-1007-53-Cricket_suicide_mystery
The Police say that the inquest may take about 6 moths to an year(!?).
The same reasons touted by the Police in Bob Woolmer case.
Note the inexplicable South Africa-Australia match which ended in Cape town with SA winning,despite the chances of Australia winning it.
Also the the fall of wickets in the match resulting in SA at 94 an Australia at 47 All out.
I suspect match fixing and Peter may have been in the know of things and was silenced.
Had such events taken place in the sub-continent the hue and cry would have been intolerable.
By the way no ICC comments?
The Police are reported to have seized his laptop and are reported to be investigating.
Bob Woolmer died in South Africa under mysterious circumstances.He was reported to have in the know of cricket betting and he was dead.Plolice finally closed the case.
Hansie Cronjie died a mysterious plane crash,also involved in Match Fixing.
Can there be a connection between all these?
THE highly respected cricket commentator and former English county player Peter Roebuck has died in South Africa, where he was covering the Australian Test tour.
Roebuck’s body was found outside the Southern Sun Hotel Newlands early yesterday. Shortly before his death, the 55-year-old was being interviewed by officers from the sex crimes unit over an alleged assault during an incident last week.
To Roebuck.
“A magnificent analyst and writer on the game.” –Mark Scott, managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Nobody cut to the chase more succinctly and nobody saw how the game was and where it was heading better than Peter Roebuck … [his] incisiveness and the way he delivered was the blueprint for our cricket commentary. He rang me up nearly every week for the last 10 years to talk cricket, and every time I’d put the phone down and have a deeper view of the game.” – Kerry O’Keeffe, former Australia spinner and ABC cricket commentator.
We didn’t talk so much about the game, more about things around the game. Like corruption and things like Zimbabwe, which he felt pretty strongly about. I enjoyed reading his stuff, at times I read it and didn’t get the point, so he wasn’t exactly Bill O’Reilly, but he was a damn good writer, a colourful writer and he brought other things in life into it.” – Ian Chappell, former Australia captain and fellow commentator.
“He was brilliant in his analysis and capacity to talk about everything in cricket. One of the great strengths of having him as a broadcaster was that he covered such a range of things around the game, yet was always precise. He showed a great passion and respect for the game.” – Jim Maxwell, ABC cricket commentator
“Devastated. My dear friend and one of the greatest cricket writers ever Peter Roebuck passes away. He was meant to write about cricket in the manner Sachin Tendulkar was born to play it.” – Harsha Bhogle, Indian commentator and writer
“I spent much of the past 25 years sharing a press box with Peter Roebuck. Can’t believe he won’t be there this summer.” – Malcolm Conn, chief cricket writer, the Australian
“The death of Peter Roebuck leaves the grass less green and cricket without its most effective investigative journalist,” former England captain Tony Greig, on Twitter
“Peter was not only an extremely gifted cricket writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, he was also one of Australia’s most popular cricket commentators for the ABC.” – Greg Hywood, CEO of Fairfax media
“We are saddened and shocked at this news. Peter was one of the finest cricket writers of his generation. His reporting and commentary were always fair, balanced, and insightful.” – Peter Fray, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun-Herald
“Pete’s reputation will grow and grow as the years pass. A cricket writer of intelligence, empathy and charm whose writing sometimes filled me with awe and always reminded me why the game should be nurtured and treasured.” – David Hopps, cricket writer at the Guardian
“He bought particular insight to his commentary based on his lengthy experience as a first-class cricketer and captain, and combined that with a singular flair for the written and spoken word. He spoke his mind frankly and while one didn’t necessarily always have to agree, you always respected what he had to say.” – James Sutherland, Cricket Australia, chief executive officer
“He was a fierce critic of South African cricket in the unhappy days of the rebel tours but he made a personal tour of South Africa after the completion of the unity process. My late brother, Khaya, who was in charge of the development programmes, took him on tours of the various townships and he became one of our best supporters. He personally arranged bursaries so that some of the township players emerging at that time could gain experience by playing club cricket in England.” – Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa, chief executive officer
“We express our condolences to his friends and family. We were expecting to reap the benefits of his experience in the field of cricket writing for many years.” – Paena Galane, spokesperson for Fikile Mbalula, South Africa’s sports minister
“He was a fantastic writer cum commentator, one of the best in this generation. He was someone who was very opinionated, but was very independent. I looked forward to reading what he wrote about but more importantly how he wrote it. He had this incredible ability to use words to make the game of cricket and the players come alive. It was also wonderful that he loved India and coming to India.” – Rahul Dravid, India batsman
“I don’t think anyone in cricket writing had a voice like Peter’s when he arrived on the scene in the early 1980s. You only have to contrast the way we wrote about cricket in the 1970s to the way we write it now – Peter has been responsible I think for a lot of those developments.” – Gideon Haigh, cricket historian and writer
“Peter Roebuck was a tortured, driven soul, but his suicide still comes as a shock. Cricket has lost its most erudite idealist.” – Derek Pringle, former England cricketer and current cricket correspondent of Daily Telegraph
“RIP Peter Roebuck. I didn’t agree with everything you wrote about cricket but f*** I loved the way you wrote it…” – Wil Anderson, Australian comedian
“The news of Peter’s death is extremely sad. He was such a gifted man, both as a cricketer and a writer.” –Mike Brearley, former England captain
“Shocked to hear the sad news from Cape Town, RIP Peter Roebuck a great cricketing mind.” – Tom Moody, former Australia allrounder
“Cricket has lost one hell of an intellect and a bloke who cared deeply about the game. I always read Peter Roebuck with complete admiration.” – Lawrence Booth, editor of the Wisden Almanack
“Shocking and sad news about Peter Roebuck. One of the two or three best writers on cricket in the world,” –John Stern, former editor of The Wisden Cricketer
“My God. Just heard about Peter Roebuck. Loved working with him. Incisive. Erudite. Funny.” – Jonathan Agnew, BBC cricket correspondent and former England bowler
“Very sad news: Peter Roebuck, former Somerset batsman and one of the finest sportswriters around, has died at the age of 55.” – Phillippe Auclair, sports journalist and author of Cantona: The Rebel Who Would Be King
“Peter taught me so. He took the time to share his thoughts on the game he loved so much. A wordsmith of the highest quality.” – Peter Walsh, ABC broadcaster
“We love an opinion, whether we agree or not. We’ve just lost a great polariser.” – Iain O’Brien, former New Zealand bowler
“Peter was caustic, opinionated, brilliant & funny, a man who could make you laugh, get pissed off or say, ‘why couldn’t I put it that way?’” – Kadambari Murali-Wade, editor-in-chief, Sports Illustrated India
“Can’t believe that Peter Roebuck is no more…met him a couple of times and read him a million times. One of my favourite cricket writers. R.I.P.” – Aakash Chopra, former India batsman
“Very, very depressed. A friend and one of the world’s greatest cricket writers Peter Roebuck is no more. Roebuck was a cricket intellectual. He always saw the game ‘beyond the boundary’ which made his writing so special.” – Rajdeep Sardesai, editor-in-chief, IBN network
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
http://www.samachar.com/Cricket-has-lost-one-hell-of-an-intellect-llngLRbedgb.html
A man who can be incisive and dead right on the spot.
On reporting the Harbhajan Singh Monkey gate he observed
“Ponting has turned a group of professional Cricketers into a pack of wild dogs”
Nothing can be more accurate and more caustic.
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