Pakistaniplayers and dignitaries have attended a memorial service in Lahorefor Bob Woolmer, the murdered Pakistancricket coach.

About 400Muslims and Christians attended a service at the Sacred Heart Cathedral onSunday where they observed a minute silence and lit candles.

Inzamam-ul-Haq,the captain of the Pakistanteam, led a group of seven players among the mourners, while officials litcandles and laid wreaths.

ReverendLawrence Saldanha, the archbishop of Lahore,said: "Woolmer was like a second father to his players."

'Asecond father'

"We paytribute to his excellent qualities. He was known for his passionate interest incricket. We salute him for his professional competency, as well as his sense ofresponsibility and commitment," he said.

"Hewas also a kind and gentle person who won the hearts of his players who lookedup to him as a second father."

Inzamam,accompanied by team-mates Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Shoaib Malik, MohammedAsif, Mohammed Hafeez and Kamran Akmal, said Woolmer was an "excellentcoach and, above all things, was an excellent human being".

"AfterWoolmer's family, the Pakistanteam was the most aggrieved by his death," Inzamam said during thehour-long service.

'Aterrible tragedy'

Nasim Ashraf, chairmanof the PakistaniCricket Board (PCB), described Woolmer's death as "a terribletragedy" and said that he was a "rock of stability" who livedfor cricket and loved the sport.

"Hewas internationally known and was the first modern coach of cricket. The worldwill follow his method and teachings," Ashraf said.

He remembered Woolmer as a man of simple tastes, choosing to live in a room atthe National Cricket Academyrather than a five-star hotel, and a person who developed a taste for Pakistanifood and films and understood some Urdu.

"He would go to food street [a restaurant area of Lahore]and watch Pakistani movies and he once told me that 'the boys do not know thatI understand half of their jokes'," Ashraf said.

Ashraflit candles and along with Khalid Maqbool, the governor of the Punjab region, laid wreaths aroundWoolmer's portrait on behalf of Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani president.

'Complexinvestigation'

Woolmer,58, became Pakistancoach in 2004 and an initial improvement in the team's fortunes earned respectfrom many Pakistanis.

His death has shocked the internationalcricket community and led to speculation over who might beresponsible.

Themurder of Woolmer, also a former coach of South Africa,has led to one of the most complex murder investigations in Jamaica'shistory.

It hasalso fuelled rumours about possible links to match-fixing and illegal bettingin cricket.

Around 50officers are attempting to track down hundreds of potential witnesses whowere either visiting or staying at Kingston's Pegasus Hotel in the daysleading up to Woolmer's death.