I am pleased to hear that Bob was not murdered, all the boys will feel the same as I’m sure his family will also. But this verdict will never take away one of the toughest periods in our lives. It was a nightmare.

Those final 10 days in the Caribbean were the hardest of my life. We went through hell. I was always hopeful and confident that Bob died naturally and that the Jamaican doctors made a mistake. It seems likely that the doctors there have said something wrong, maybe, but I don’t know the full facts.

I don’t really want to make blame, but I am annoyed that we all had to go through this, for nothing. It was unnecessary and very hurtful for Bob’s family.

I don’t know what has happened there but I can tell you it wasn’t good for the players or for Pakistan cricket. Actually when they started talking about ‘murder’ it was not a good thing for the world of cricket, not just Pakistan. It took over the whole World Cup.

It was hard and painful enough to lose a good friend like Bob as he was a great human being but to then be caught up in a murder investigation was very, very difficult for all of us. And as captain I probably felt the pressure most.

I was one of the few who saw Bob lying in his room and it was very upsetting. We had become close as captain and coach over the three years he had spent with the Pakistan team.

We were already very down and depressed after losing to Ireland. We knew we had let our country down and that we would be leaving the World Cup. Then to go through all that we did with police interviews and with the world’s media after us it was very, very tough. As I said, they were the hardest days I have known.

We felt at times as though people were pointing the finger at us and that was not fair. It was unbelievable, not right.

There was a lot of pressure on me because the team did not qualify for the second round and then Bob died. It was very hard because not only did Pakistan lose at the World Cup, but I had lost a very close friend in Bob

I needed a long time afterwards to get away from it all. After a two-month break I now feel relaxed again, the stress is gone and day by day things have become better.

Since the World Cup I have spent a lot of time with family. I went to the north of the country as it’s too hot in Lahore with the temperature at 49 and 50 degrees.

I started practice again two weeks ago. For six days a week I go to the gym and in the evenings when the weather is cooler I go to Lahore Gymkhana to practice my cricket. The club has good practice facilities, good bowlers, good pitches – they are a good club and it gives me all that I need for practice. Sunday is a rest day.

Before the World Cup we were playing a lot of cricket and it was tiring. Then after all that happened at the World Cup I felt I need that two-month break. Now I’m mentally focused and feeling refreshed and very ambitious to play more Test cricket. I’m confident that I will and I’m working hard to make it happen.

I’m aware that I need a few runs (21) to pass Javed Miandad (to become Pakistan’s highest run-scorer) but I am looking further ahead than that. I want to score at least another thousand Test runs and get to 10,000. The summer that Pakistan has coming up later in the year is all the motivation I need with tough series against South Africa at home, India in India and then Australia at home. Hopefully the selectors will feel that my experience will be useful to the team. Inshallah. 

This diary is also running on the Daily Telegraph's website