It is with much disgust that I note your lack of professionalism as an editor of a major South African publication when you tell Hansie Cronje to “fuck off”. A more objective and insightful view is what I would expect from an editor like yourself, but what should I be expecting from someone as crass as yourself, Mr Editor?
Hansie was accused of match fixing. No proof has emerged that he or any other member of his team under-performed in order to lose a match. The match records are there to show that. All that Hansie did, and I am not condoning it, was to receive money from bookmakers in exchange for team and pitch information. This was done by other high-profile cricketers, yet the question remains: why is Cronje being punished more severely than others. We all know about Mark Waugh and Shane Warne taking money for giving team information. yet they received a fine and a slap on the wrist.
As regards the pompous and arrogant behaviour of Percy Sonn, the United Cricket Board president who unilaterally banned him without giving him a chance to defend himself, all I can say is your turn will come, Percy, when you will have to explain yourself.
I think that if Hansie were an English-speaking or Jewish cricketer he might have gotten a bit more respect, because, after all, most captains and leading administrators are English-speaking or Jewish and it is resented that Mr Cronje isn’t. That, however, is my opinion.
As far as your writing skills go, Mr Editor, you can stick that editorial pen right up your bumhole, since that’s where you got your inspiration from anyway. And one more thing … I dare you to publish this letter. Diego Iturralde, Pretoria
Great leader last week on Hansie Cronje. I couldn’t agree more. I’m not normally a four-letter fan but on this occasion your undeleted expletives were entirely appropriate. Actually, I laughed out loud and woke up the office. Paul Bell, Mayfair, London
Having just read the editorial of October 19 I was disappointed by the use of expletives at the end. It is one thing to read about aspects of deteriorating social order and contributors to this breakdown but I think it is unfortunate that the editor has to resort to such basal expletives to get the point across. Is this really necessary? I suggest not and in fact it portrays a very poor role model for younger readers who should be aspiring to reading good usage of English instead of such subjective expletives. Sincerely. Leszek Vincent, USA