ROB DAVIES, Cape Town | Tuesday 12.50pm.
THE King Commission probe into disgraced former South African cricket skipper Hansie Cronje’s involvement in match-fixing starts on Wednesday in Cape Town with 40 former and current players and officials expected to testify.
Among those who will give testimony regarding Cronje’s alleged involvement in rigging matches are former South African coach Bob Woolmer, UCBSA chief Dr Ali Bacher, current South African coach Graham Ford and a host of former national players, including Fanie de Villiers, Pat Symcox, Brian McMillan and Daryll Cullinan.
Most of the players who toured the subcontinent in the 1999-2000 season will be called to testify before the commission, as will those players who were present in 1996 when Cronje allegedly called the Proteas togther to discuss whether they should accept an offer of US$250000 to throw a match in Mumbai.
Cronje has denied from the outset of the scandal that he never lost a match on purpose, and many people, including Woolmer, believe that if all Cronje did was give “forecasts” to bookmakers he should be fined and allowed to play cricket again.
Woolmer told the Cape press Club on Monday that he believes Cronje was never involved in match-fixing and that he was playing along with Indian bookies, giving information and forecasts.
Woolmer said that if Cronje is found guilty of “forecasting” he should be fined as was the case with Australian internationals Mark Waugh and Shane Warne who were found guilty of the same offence.
Cronje’s former and current teammates will no doubt be in for a tough time when they start their testimony at the King commission. Most of the players who were subpoenad have been playing alongside Cronje for a number of seasons, and it is natural that there will be a sense of guilt in that they may feel they are betraying a close friend and colleague.
The vast majority of players will certainly not relish their turn at testifying, but the only way Cronje can emerge with dignity from the hole he finds himself in presently is through the testimony of those who played with him. If Cronje has done nothing wrong apart from giving out information and making “forecasts” then the worst he has to fear is being fined and disciplined.
If the reverse is true, however, then Cronje is in for a torrid time. Former Pakistani skipper Salim Malik was handed a life ban last month and Cronje will certainly face the same punishment.
Cronje has been adament that he never fixed a match and Woolmer’s view on this is in line with that of former skipper. Woolmer said in Cape Town that Cronje always set out to win a match, and that he always wanted the strongest side available to take the field.
It is not clear in which order testimony will be heard, but by the end of Wednesday the South African cricketing public should have an idea of the extent of Cronje’s wrongdoings.
The Cronje saga has the cricketing public divided like never before, and the run-up to the commission has seen many former supporters of Cronje voicing their suspicions, adding to the nagging worry that the same man who took South Africa to within sight of the pinnacle of international cricket may have sold the way to the summit for a handful of silver.