Police investigating the death of Bob Woolmer may have to wait weeks for the results of toxicology tests that will help to determine whether he was murdered.

The delays will further hamper the inquiry, which has yet to find a motive or a suspect three weeks after Woolmer’s body was found in a Kingston hotel.

British experts have questioned whether there is sufficient evidence to conclude that the Pakistan coach was asphyxiated by “manual strangulation”, as Jamaican police have said.

One UK pathologist said that Jamaican postmortem examinations were often of a poor standard. “They are hackers, not cutters,” he said.

The toxicology tests will establish whether Woolmer was poisoned or drugged. This might explain why there was no evidence of a struggle and why there were no bruises or scratches on his neck.

Mark Shields, the deputy commissioner of the Jamaican police, said finalising the tests could take up to eight weeks. “It’s in everyone’s interest to know exactly when he died and how,” said the former Scotland Yard detective. “But frustrating as it may be, science goes at a certain pace.”

Shields played down claims by the Pakistan team that Woolmer had been alive when his body was found. “There were two doctors and a nurse,” he said. “Having spoken to them, they said there were no visible signs of life.”

Dr Ere Seshaiah, a Jamaican pathologist, initially said the cause of Woolmer’s death was “inconclusive”, but changed his mind after reviewing his autopsy and concluded that he had been strangled. One of the key pieces of evidence appears to be the discovery of a broken bone in Woolmer’s neck, although experts says this could have been caused by a resuscitation attempt, fall or the postmortem dissection.

“Given my knowledge of Jamaican pathology, I don’t think I would have much confidence in such a difficult case as this,” said Derrick Pounder, professor of forensic pathology at Dundee University, who has witnessed autopsies in Kingston as part of his work for Amnesty International. “I would be more comfortable if these findings were reviewed. There are many good pathologists in the Caribbean.”

The police are convinced that Woolmer was murdered and say “factors” known only to them suggest foul play.

They have amassed hundreds of hours of CCTV coverage from the Pegasus hotel, neighbouring hotels and Pakistan’s World Cup games. It has been sent to Scotland Yard for analysis.

“They [the Met police] are doing quickly what we would do more slowly. They have more resources and more practice at putting it together,” said Shields.

It has emerged that Woolmer’s last meal was lasagne, delivered by room service. Police have not ruled out poisoning, possibly using the drug aconite, which can cause asphyxia. Shields said: “We have had a report of aconite poisoning and we are investigating.”

Shields also indicated that his officers are likely to travel to Pakistan to clear up “ambiguities” in statements given by the team and officials. But he cautioned: “One should never jump to the conclusion that because there’s an ambiguity, a person is a suspect.”

Chappell attacks Indian approach

Greg Chappell has attacked the way cricket is run in India in the wake of their World Cup failure. The Australian, who resigned as coach after they failed to make the Super Eight, said that “if you want to be like Australia, you can’t run your cricket like Zimbabwe”.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been meeting in Bombay to plan its next step. “The Indians must adopt a 10-year plan,” said Chappell. “Any half-measures would be like putting Band-Aid on cancer.” After briefing the BCCI, Chappell was taken to hospital when he complained of feeling unwell, but was later released after tests.

Ravi Shastri will temporarily replace Chappell as coach, with Dav Whatmore, currently with Bangladesh, the long-term favourite. Rahul Dravid has been retained as captain.

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