Family wants to bury Roebuck in England

The family of noted cricket writer Peter Roebuck, who committed suicide in Cape Town on Saturday, has sought permission to take his body to England for burial, a report said here Tuesday.

According to a report in 'The Australian' newspaper, Roebuck's family has emerged to claim his body, which will be sent back to England.

"There had been speculation the cricket commentator would be buried in South Africa, a place where he said his family lived, or Australia, the country he adopted after leaving England. However, Roebuck's sister has told friends that her mother - his friends were surprised to discover she was alive - wants his body returned to where he was born," the report said.

Interestingly, Roebuck claimed to have snapped relations with his siblings and mother, saying his new family were the young men who lived in his Pietermaritzburg home.

The 55-year-old Roebuck plunged to death from the sixth floor room of his hotel in South Africa where he had gone to cover the Test series between Australia and the Proteas with unconfirmed reports stating that he took the extreme step after being questioned by South African police for alleged sexual assault.

Roebuck was born in England but lived in a self-imposed exile from the country after his bad experiences as Somerset captain and a court case over caning of three 19-year-old South African cricketers who lived at his Devon home.