Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola said on Thursday that he could not comment on reports emanating from India that batsman Herschelle Gibbs revealed the names of three former Proteas cricketers involved in a match-fixing scam in 2000.
”I can’t comment on what’s happened in India,” Majola told the South African Press Association.
”However, I would like to thank the South African High Commissioner, Francis Moloi, for his support, and the Indian police, who kept to their word that Herschelle would be allowed to join the rest of the team after he had been questioned.
”Herschelle can now concentrate on the game of cricket,” he concluded.
Gibbs was questioned by police in Delhi on Thursday morning about his role in the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal. He was accompanied to the Delhi police offices by his lawyer, Peter Whelan, and the High Commissioner.
Later, India media reported that he had named three former team members who had also been part of the scam. One was named as Derek Crookes, but the Indian police declined to name the other two.
However, Proteas media spokesperson Gordon Templeton denied that Gibbs had named three players. He said he had spoken to Gibbs and to his lawyer, who both said the reports were inaccurate.
Crime Branch joint police Commissioner Ranjit Narayan led the two-and-half-hour questioning of Gibbs, who he said was ”part of the conspiracy” to fix match results for money during the 2000 tour.
”None of these three is part of the current South African team playing in the Champions Trophy, but we now want to interrogate them for which a letter rogatory [formal request from a court to a foreign court] will be sent,” Narayan said.
Gibbs, wearing dark glasses, was whisked away via a private exit.
Nrayan described the interrogation of the 32-year-old batsman as ”extremely fruitful and satisfactory”.
”We now have information to move ahead in the case but more is needed and he has agreed to come back if we need him and he said he’ll cooperate with us.
”Gibbs was asked about his role in the entire episode and the illegal gratification offered to him to under perform or throw away matches,” Narayan said.
”In light of the information given by Gibbs today [Thursday], further investigation to collect corrobative evidence shall be conducted as we know that he had a role in the conspiracy,” he said.
”Gibbs admitted he was made the offer twice, first in 1996 and then in 2000. And he has revealed three names and we will be sending a letter rogatory [to South Africa] to seek their presence to question them in India.”
Narayan noted that India had sent a first letter rogatory to South Africa in 2000 to which no reply has been received. ”Gibbs’s lawyers described that as a huge mistake,” the police chief said.
”Gibbs came to us like an ordinary accused … He has given us a lot of leads but no undertaking has been given by us that he will not be arrested,” Narayan said.
The player will not be questioned again during the course of the Champions Trophy, which ends on November 5, he added.
Gibbs has admitted accepting money from disgraced former captain Hansie Cronje to score fewer than 20 runs against India in a one-dayer during a 2000 March-April tour.
He subsequently scored 74 runs and said he had ”forgotten” about the deal, but was suspended and fined by the South African authorities.
Narayan said the whole South African team had received a match-fixing offer in 1996 but had turned it down.
India was also shaken by a betting scandal that rocked the national team in the late 1990s, but Narayan said Gibbs did not name any Indians.
Gibbs, who has played 79 Tests, has refused to tour India since 2000 after failing to obtain assurances he would not be detained.
Implicated in the same scandal was Cronje, who admitted involvement and was served with a life ban before dying in a plane crash in 2002.
Gibbs was scheduled to join the South African team in Mumbai on Thursday evening. South Africa, winners of the maiden Champions Trophy in 1998 in Bangladesh, are scheduled to play their first match against New Zealand in Mumbai on Monday. — Sapa-AFP