‘Suicide’ of former cricketer probed

The former Somerset cricket captain, who had been covering Australia’s tour of South Africa, jumped from a hotel room window on Saturday night after he was reportedly questioned by officers from the sexual crimes unit.

However, police refused to comment on whether or not they had spoken to Roebuck at the Southern Sun Hotel in Newlands, Cape Town, prior to his death.

Officers have described Roebuck’s death as suicide.

Roebuck, who was working for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, captained Somerset and opened the batting for much of the 1980s and passed 1,000 runs nine times in 12 seasons.

He was born in Oxford and moved to Australia and South Africa following his retirement.

Roebuck became a respected columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Cricinfo alongside his commentary duties. His uniquely opinionated brand of journalism made him one of the game’s best known media men.

He travelled regularly with the Australian cricket team and split the rest of his year living between Sydney and Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

Mike Coward, an Australian cricket journalist who was Roebuck’s friend and professional rival for 30 years, described him as a “complicated, intense and solitary figure”.

Mr Coward, 65, who is now the president of the Australian Cricket Media Association, worked with Roebuck at the Sydney Morning Herald in the 1980s before moving on to The Australian.

He said: “I was extremely fond of Peter although he was a complicated man, an intense and solitary figure. This is a desperately sad situation which has struck a blow to the entire international cricket community.”

Asked about the circumstances leading up to Roebuck’s death, Mr Coward said: “We know nothing about the allegations because we are half the way across the world, all I know is there is to be an inquest.”