Cricket: Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has described the World Cup defeat to Ireland as "the most difficult day" of his life.
The March 17th reverse saw Pakistan eliminated from the competition and the following day coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room.
At a press conference in Lahore, reporters were prevented from asking questions about Woolmer's death and the subsequent murder investigation.
But Inzamam did talk about events in the previous 24 hours and revealed he blamed himself for the defeat but denied he had made the decision to bat further down the order.
He said: "The loss to Ireland was the most difficult day of my life. I take all the responsibility.
"I was batting lower down because Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf were batting so well at number three. Now that we lost I am accused of dictating terms."
The 37-year-old, who resigned the captaincy of the Test team and announced his retirement from one-dayers after the Ireland loss, added that it had always been his intention to stand down after the World Cup.
"It has been a tough time for me and my family," he said. "I took the decision to retire from one-dayers before the World Cup. One-day cricket has become a very fast game. I am only human."
Pakistan crashed out of the World Cup following back-to-back defeats in their opening Group D encounters against West Indies and Ireland, with their subsequent victory against Zimbabwe not enough to secure their passage to the Super Eight stage.
Inzamam rebuffed suggestions the first two games were linked to match-fixing.
He said: "It's unfair to talk about match-fixing now after the World Cup defeats. Losing the toss [against Ireland] proved vital for us."
And he launched a scathing attack on the Pakistani media, saying: "The team did not get any support from the Pakistani press.
"The West Indies pitches weren't good for batting. The media is unnecessarily tarnishing the image of the Pakistan team.
"No-one knows what the team went through after the loss [to Ireland]. Players live in fear of what happens if we lose. The media only knows how to attack us and not support us."