While Hansie Cronje tries to make money off the field, the Proteas are struggling on it Peter Robinson So just what does a disgraced former Test captain do with his spare time these days? In the case of Hansie Cronje, it would seem, the trick is to set up a long-range book deal. In the past two weeks, the name of Cronje has been linked with English superagent Max Clifford and former South African captain Clive Rice, both of whom have apparently been trying to sniff out a book deal for Cronje. In the case of Clifford, a figure of 250 000 (R2,5-million) has been suggested as an advance. Collins Willows have also been touted as possible publishers.
Cronje’s lawyer Leslie Sackstein professed ignorance of any publishing arrangement this week, but he did confirm that he had advised Cronje not to fly to London. Sackstein fears Cronje could face legal difficulties, arrest and possible extradition to India in London. He used Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet as an example. Interestingly enough, so did Clifford.
Aside from the prospect of Cronje getting banged up in the cells at Scotland Yard, the possibility of an authorised version of the “Hansiegate” affair raises several issues. The first is obviously the indemnity from prosecution in South Africa accepted by Cronje. To make a book worthwhile, any publisher would want something new and juicy on which to hang serial rights and any number of marketing gimmicks.
Anything new and juicy, however, would surely put Cronje foul of Judge Edwin King, whose commission of inquiry is expected to resume its hearings later this year. Perhaps Cronje is thinking of publishing and emigrating, but then he could face the threat of extradition. It seems a catch-22 situation.
The United Cricket Board (UCB) has been cautious in its response to the possibility of a Cronje book. So cautious, in fact, that there is no official response at this stage. It is not, however, difficult to guess that the UCB would take an extremely dim view of Cronje making yet more money out of his misdeeds. There is also the curious position of Rice to consider. Although Rice is currently looking after Nottinghamshire, he remains a South African selector, and as such an official of the UCB. It is scarcely credible that he should publicly be seen to be helping Cronje better himself financially.
The selection panel comes up for re- election when the UCB holds its annual meeting next weekend. Unless Rice comes up with a plausible explanation for his involvement with Cronje (and it is difficult to think of any explanation that would hold water), he is unlikely to be re- elected.
And lest anyone should believe that Cronje should now be left alone in peace, consider this: last weekend Cronje was interviewed on the Channel 9 current affairs programme 60 Minutes. In a largely self-serving portrait of himself, Cronje contrived to argue that his transgressions were no worse than those of Shane Warne and Mark Waugh, who were both secretly disciplined by the Australian Cricket Board for providing information to bookmakers.
Cronje, however, glossed over his worst crime: the inducements to Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams to underperform, and the approaches made to half-a-dozen team-mates to throw matches. The repercussions of these actions will ripple on for some time to come. Indeed, as South Africa prepared themselves for the first Test which started against Sri Lanka on Thursday, they found themselves having to deal with the consequences of Hansiegate.
With Gibbs at home under suspension and Paul Adams carrying a groin strain, Shaun Pollock’s tourists found themselves without an obvious “player of colour” to field in the Test match. Up until the morning of the match Nantie Hayward was the clear favourite to take the new ball with Pollock, and Makhaya Ntini’s inclusion came by way of a sudden necessity. Until then, and if Adams had not been cleared to play, South Africa would have been forced to field the wholly inexperienced Robin Peterson. Against Sri Lanka’s array of left-handers, an off- spinner turning the ball away from the bat would have been the logical selection. Instead, South Africa called for Peterson when Adams began to look doubtful. Derek Crookes, the most obvious choice, was overlooked, as were Clive Eksteen and Claude Henderson. Even hauling veteran Pat Symcox out of the commentary box for his umpteenth comeback would have made more sense.
As it happened, Adams was cleared to play, although the consensus is that he was still not fully fit. More importantly, he was clearly short of bowling, having played in only two one-day games in Sri Lanka. He was clearly underdone, and it showed as the Sri Lankans stormed out of the blocks in the first session of the Test. Match-fixing, politics and injury make for a devilish brew, and Cronje’s part in all this should not be underplayed. But what are the odds, do you think, that he will acknowledge this if and when he eventually comes to write his book? Or, more probably, have it ghost-written for him. Peter Robinson is the editor of Cricinfo South Africa