Hansie Cronje

[John]

Originally Posted by The Phantom Ram

Not a big fan then?

Were you a fan before the truth came out and felt let down by him?

I obviously was a fan and than disappionted and than pleased to know the truth.
I will tell what a friend said. SA entered cricket 1992 3 or 4 years later we know they were corrupt you telling me it wasn't widespread?
He also added I always had my doubts about Headingly '81 when Marsh and Lille bet against themselves. They have now been focused by the Cronjgate.
I can only agree.

[SeanTheSpitfire]

I have found this article concerning Cronje
Apparentley he admitted to taking a total of £68,000 from iilegal bookmakers
quite interesting to think that the case was still going on, even after his death

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/2020784.stm

[John]

I wouldn't trust anything that came out of Cronje mouth.
All credit to Kepler Wessells the SA selector. According to this book I have got Cronje denied the accusations and everyone lined up behind him except Kepler who wanted to see an investigation and refused to give his full support. For his troubles he was removed as a selector a few months later.

[Collyisamackem]

I think Cronje was an excellent, world class cricketer who let himself down badly, and then died far too early. With him in the team SA were always up for the game (save for Centurion) against England, and he caused us many problems. It's sad that he has to be remembered for fixing.

[The Phantom Ram]

Originally Posted by John

He also added I always had my doubts about Headingly '81 when Marsh and Lille bet against themselves. They have now been focused by the Cronjgate.
I can only agree.

Coud you imagine what that'd do to English cricket, that game is the game that all English cricket fans have heard of and the one English cricket uses as its main point in history.

[John]

I am not saying the match was fixed. The proof for that isn't there. What I am saying is where two players bet against their own side during the match ( and that much we do know), the result is in some doubt. You can't give it a completely clean bill of health.
If any players are found betting against themselves in any sporting contest well you can draw your own conclusions.
In the light of Cronje we became much more away of corruption in cricket and sport.
As I said early SA rentered cricket in 92 by about 95/96 ( difficult to put an exact date)they were taking money.

[Harmy's Army]

Originally Posted by Microshocker

When I saw this guy batting, I always thought he had this "aura" around him. The type guys like Imran Khan, Azharuddin, Wasim and Lara have.

Cronje wasn't in Graham Pollock's class in the "aura" stakes - not even on the same planet (but then few batsmen are or have been).

[Zainub]

The fact that you asked us if there were any good books we could suggest reminded me of Gary Kirsten's autobiography. It's called the Gazza. And it's co written by Neil Manthrope, prominent South African journalist, who frequently also writes for Cricinfo. I haven't read it my self, but someone at another cricket forum who owns a copy told me the book as a whole makes a reviting read, with the sections on Cronje being particularly eye-opening.

Kirsten got a hint of Cronje's fixation with the folding stuff during a visit to Dubai in 1999, when both players had gone out separately to dine with their wives. Kirsten went to one of the best restaurants in the city, while Cronje chose Burger King. Talking about his reaction to Cronje's choice, Kirsten writes: "I smiled back and shrugged my shoulders. He continued the conversation by asking why I would want to waste money on an expensive restaurant when you could get perfectly adequate food for a quarter of the price in a cheap restaurant. "It was a small example, but it was the moment I knew something had gone very wrong and it disturbed me. I couldn't get the idea out of my head he would rather eat a burger than have a very pleasant meal. He was very wealthy but far too driven by it. I think our relationship changed a bit that day."

Kirsten also provided a detailed account of the famous incident in Mumbai in 1996-97, when Cronje asked the whole team deliberately to underperform in a one-day match against India. Kirsten said that Cronje addressed the entire squad, with only Bob Woolmer, the coach, not around. "We have been offered a lot of money to throw a game, he [Cronje] said. I swear you could have heard a pin drop at that moment," writes Kirsten. "Nobody moved a muscle. In retrospect I think I had gone into instant shock. Even if I had wanted to speak I would have been unable to. Hansie carried on talking slowly but clearly.

Kirsten also says that he increasingly became uncomfortable with the repeated references to match-fixing that Cronje kept making. "There was just a bit too much banter about the subject around the team. The captain of six years' standing was talking about match-fixing a lot and joking to his players about being involved. It wasn't really possible to know whether he was being serious or not. "In retrospect he appeared to be handing out invitations all the time in the form of silly little comments like, 'If you make nought today someone will get very rich.' The power of wealth and the greed for money were his weaknesses, and he was more heavily addicted than any of us knew. Perhaps as a senior player I should have acted but hindsight is a perfect science and life isn't."

More here: http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/sout...ry/135626.html

[Jimc]

My son played Provincial Crieket with Hansie for 6yrs. When the story broke I phoned my son in Bloemfontein who at that stage had not heard what had happened. His words to me were "Dad I am worried because I know how much Hansie loves Money"

[Captain]

Since then we have made alot of improvements to checking the players and we are now better off, so think of it as something nice he did for cricket.