hearings
Marianne Merten and Peter Robinson The interim report of the King commission into cricket match-fixing – to be submitted to the government this Friday – is widely expected to recommend disci- plinary hearings for suspended cricketers Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams, who admitted they agreed to underperform in a one-day match in India. The start of the domestic cricket season next month has put pressure on the United Cricket Board (UCB) to resolve the damaging controversy. The UCB has previously said it would wait for word from commission chair Judge Edwin King before taking any disciplinary action.
The commission is likely to recall, among others, UCB MD Ali Bacher and Hansie Cronje to deal with evidence that arose after they were cross-examined during the first phase of the commission. Only half of the initial 45 subpoenaed witnesses have testified and further subpoenas were issued to obtain the financial records of players of the 1996 Indian tour. Legal sources have expressed concern over the fact that the commission had to issue an interim report in the middle of proceedings – a move that could both constrain its preliminary findings and expose it to fresh legal
hurdles when it resumes. UCB communications manager Bronwyn Wilkinson said the board has asked for guidance from the commission to stop the uncertainty around Gibbs and Williams’s future. And Bacher recently expressed confidence this would happen.
“We have a season looming. We can’t keep them in limbo,” she said. All steps for a speedy hearing are in place – an independent three-man team under former judge-turned-businessman Mervyn King was already announced last month – and proceedings could take place as early as next week. The committee will also consist of Michael Kuper, SC, and attorney Jake Moloi, the co-chair of the Law Society of South Africa. Gibbs and Williams were suspended in June after revealing they had accepted an offer of $15 000 by Cronje to underperform at Nagpur on March 19. Neither was paid because they failed to keep their respective promises to score fewer than 20 runs and to concede 50 runs for 10 overs. Pieter Strydom, who admitted to inquiring about the odds on the Test against England in January to place a R50 bet, could also face disciplinary steps.
Gibbs’s father, Herman, said he would welcome clarity on his son’s future in international cricket; the 26-year old was dropped from the squad currently touring Sri Lanka.
On Friday morning King is also expected to announce the commission’s next steps and a possible earlier start to the next round of hearings currently scheduled for October 2. The lack of access to tapes, or at least certified transcripts, of conversations between the sacked Cronje and bookmakers remains a thorn in the side of the commission. Attempts to obtain copies have been unsuccessful to date despite contact between the commission and Indian police authorities. “I’m still very hopeful,” said commission prosecutor Shamila Batohi. Cronje’s attorney Clem Druker said there was still more evidence to come. “So I guess we just have to sit tight and wait it out.” Much remains at stake for Cronje as King must decide whether he has told the whole truth – a condition for receiving immunity from prosecution in South Africa. It is at this stage not clear if or when the interim report will be made public. This is the prerogative of President Thabo Mbeki, who signed the regulations establishing the commission in May, after he receives the interim report from Minister of Sport and Recreation Ngconde Balfour and Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Penuel Maduna. Representative of the president’s office Tasneem Carrim said it was unlikely any comment would be made before the interim report was studied. Sports ministry liaison officer Graham Abrahams said getting to the truth was of utmost importance as South Africa, as the host of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, did not want a blot on its reputation. “It’s not only about cricket. It’s about our country, our responsibility,” he said. Whatever the findings or recommendations of the King commission of inquiry, Gibbs may still have to serve a ban from international cricket before he again becomes available for the national team. In April Gibbs was found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute after being spotted in a nightclub in the early hours of the morning the night before a one-day international against Australia. He was fined R15 000 and banned for three games, with R10 000 of the fine and the ban suspended for a year on condition he was not found guilty of a similar offence during that period. Even if the King commission takes a lenient view of Gibbs’s involvement in the match- fixing scandal, it is difficult to believe that by accepting Cronje’s offer to give his wicket away cheaply for a sum of money he did not again bring the game into disrepute.
The commission is expected to conclude its proceedings towards the end of the year.