Just not cricket

All eyes on Herschelle Gibbs as he arrives

By Martin Turner in Cape Town

Cricket is not just a game in South Africa, and Hansie Cronje was not just a cricketer. He was idolised throughout the country, pictured next to presidents and given a status to match.

The fall from such an elevated position has caused shockwaves not just in sport, but outside it as well.

The Centre for the Book in Cape Town, where the inquiry is being held, is a sedate place, not used to the drama unfolding inside it. The commission sits in a high-ceilinged semi-circular hall lined with glass-fronted bookshelves. Inside it, the truth about South African cricket has spilt forth.

It began with veteran off-spinner, Pat Symcox. He revealed how as far back as 1995, Hansie Cronje had discussed with him an offer to throw a match. He also recounted the casual way in which the whole team had discussed another offer in 1996.

The sums are large: $250,000 in the second case.

Bombshell

Then on the second day came the bombshell. A young batsman, Herschelle Gibbs, was due to give evidence.

Hansie Cronje: Reputation in tatters

He had been fidgeting nervously all morning as he awaited his turn. When he spoke, the reason became clear.

He said that in March this year Hansie Cronje had come to his hotel room and had offered him $15,000 to score under 20 runs in the one-day international against India that they they were about to play.

He said his parents were going through in a divorce, and he was worried about how to support them, so he accepted the offer.

In the event, he said he got carried away. He forgot about the offer and went onto score 73. He received no money.

Worse to come

The inquiry was stunned. But worse was to come on the third day. Two more players recounted how they too had been offered money, US$15,000 and US$10,000 respectively, to influence the outcome of matches.

Sports minister Ngconde Balfour attended the hearings

The lawyers cross-examining the witnesses were careful to set this testimony against Hansie Cronje's insistence that although he had taken money from a bookmaker, he had never approached a player about match-fixing nor had he ever colluded to throw a match.

In the space of two days, what remained of Hansie Cronje's reputation lay in tatters.

The South African Government has no illusions about the importance of the inquiry. President Thabo Mbeki has called for a preliminary report by the end of the month and two of his ministers attended the commission's opening day.

Sportspeople are commonly regarded as examples of moral rectitude. It is hard to think how South Africa's revered cricket captain could have set a worse example.

Wrong signals

At a time when the country's government is trying to fight corruption, it is all too well aware that a scandal of this nature sends precisely the wrong signals to those who might consider exploiting a situation to their personal benefit.

That fact is not lost on people in Cape Town who have been keen to give their opinions to the throng of media covering the inquiry. Astonishment tinged with disgust is the most common reaction.

Herschelle Gibbs's father, Herman, spoke for many when he said he simply could not understand how Hansie Cronje could have so cynically exploited the respect that his players felt for him.

Hansie Cronje must also provide that same answer for all the South Africans who once believed he stood for everything good and true about cricket and the country.