Ntuthuko Maphumulo
Former South African captain Hansie Cronje will be kicking himself all the way to the bank after he lost his high court appeal against a life ban from cricket.
The failed application means he will have to pay between R200 000 and R300 000 of the United Cricket Board’s (UCB) legal costs.
This time he can’t blame Satan, as he himself chose to refuse an out-of-court settlement from the UCB that would have given him a better deal than the one eventually awarded by Judge Frank Kirk-Cohen.
The court upheld the life ban imposed on Cronje, but granted an interdict against the UCB in terms of which it may not take any steps to prevent Cronje from coaching, sponsoring or promoting cricket in schools that are not affiliates of the UCB.
Furthermore, it may not prevent Cronje from securing employment with any person other than the UCB and its affiliates, and may not prevent him, as a journalist, from entering cricket grounds under UCB control. But media accreditation is at the discretion of the UCB.
On the likelihood of Cronje getting a press pass any time soon, UCB spokesperson Bronwyn Wilkinson said: “The timing is just not right. It will probably be a few years before we feel comfortable with it.”
The original offer would have allowed Cronje to coach at schools affiliated to the UCB and to get accreditation after the 2003 World Cup.
But being barred from the UCB’s hospitality suites could be the least of Cronje’s worries. He was given indemnity from prosecution if he told the truth to the King commission of inquiry into match-fixing. Subsequent revelations have shown he did not tell the commission the whole story, which would make him liable for criminal prosecution.
Cronje, who at first refuted statements that he was involved in cricket match-fixing, finally admitted to the King commission that he had received more than $100 000 (nearly R1-million) from bookmakers. Cronje also admitted he had bribed two of his team-mates, Henry Williams and Herschelle Gibbs, to underperform in a one-day international against India.