A Crying Shame
The biggest talking point at the start of the week concerned Hansie Cronje breaking down on national television and weeping openly at the end of his three-day cross-examination. Public sympathy for the man increased as a cricket-mad nation empathised with the grief-stricken former captain who had to be helped off the witness stand, even though his actions in the match-fixing saga were not entirely excused. The fallen hero's father, Ewie Cronje, also made an impassioned plea to the public to leave Cronje alone, saying he had already suffered enough. He appealed to the nation to give his son the chance to make a new life for himself.
Strangely, though, Cronje's good cry came shortly after he had jokingly told the King Commission that his wife would cut off his "other testicle" if she found one more dollar in their house. This-and other similar light-hearted exchanges between Cronje and Judge King-sparked off laughter at the Centre for the Book where the hearings are being held. But it was to be followed by an opening of the floodgates after Cronje was excused from the witness stand. While many understood, even empathised with, Cronje's breakdown, no one could explain why Marlon Aronstam, who followed directly after Cronje, also burst into tears. No sooner had the burly bookmaker taken to the stand when his tear-ducts began working overtime, forcing an early adjournment to the commission's deliberations. Once the free-talking Aronstam regained composure, he testified that Cronje had told him that he was prepared to throw matches so that they could both make more money from cricket-only an hour after the two had met! Aronstam's deposition could yet prove to be one of the most damning against Hansie Cronje.
Dead Rumours
While his father again thanked the South African public for their supporting his son, the forlorn picture of a broken Cronje being led away had proven too much for the public. By the end of the week, rumours circulated that the disgraced former captain had committed suicide. As a stunned cricketing public frantically sought confirmation, a Cape newspaper was finally able to receive reassurances via Gibbs, who had succeeded in contacting Cronje, that his ex-skipper was alive and kicking despite the persistent rumours. "There's nothing wrong with Hansie, he's fine," reported Gibbs. The spokesperson for the United Cricket Board of South Africa, Bronwyn Wilkinson, stated her office was repeatedly being called on to quash rumours of Cronje's demise.
Another Fixed Match
Together with the rumours (now proven false) of Cronje's self-inflicted death, the usual anecdotes stemming from the match-fixing scandal were also floating around. Referring to Klusener's recent wedding, one wisecrack remarked: "The Klusener wedding was no love match. Actually, it was arranged. In fact, it was Hansie who fixed it..."
King-Sized Headache
After two weeks of testimonies by former and current players-Dave Richardson, Darryl Cullinan, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, Lance Klusener, Mark Boucher, Pat Symcox, Henry Williams, Nicky Boje, Pieter Strydom and Cronje-the King Commission indefinitely adjourned their sitting this week. Judge Edwin King has indicated he would like the terms of reference of his commission to be widened so that many more issues could be probed when they reconvene at a date still to be announced. While in recess, the commission undertook the herculean task of completing its interim report for presentation to SA sports minister, Ngconde Balfour, on Friday.
Meanwhile, the beleaguered South African cricket supremo, Dr Ali Bacher, welcomed the ICC's announcement that an Anti-Corruption Unit headed by former chief of the London Metropolitan Police, Sir Paul Condon, will investigate two 1999 World Cup cricket matches involving Pakistan. "I'm very pleased the ICC saw it fit not to sweep around the carpet," said Bacher.
Acquiring the tapes from the Delhi Police that allegedly contain conversations between Cronje and a certain bookmaker is also proving to be a king-sized problem. By mid-week, the office of President Thabo Mbeki could not confirm if an official request had been made by the King Commission. "It all depends on the legality (of the Indian police's decision to keep the recordings)... there has to be a reason why they don't make the tapes available," stated Tasneem Carrim of the president's office.
Armchair Jurists
Shamila Batohi, the commission's lead counsel tasked with ascertaining if Cronje had indeed told "the whole truth", has been no-balled by her many detractors who followed Cronje's marathon 11-hour cross-examination. Renowned for taking no prisoners when it comes to the art of cross-examination, Batohi's left many South Africans disappointed and disillusioned. Alluding to Batohi's cross-examination of Cronje, one South African commentator wrote: "It was a situation that cried out for the nagging accuracy of a Glen McGrath, the assured footwork of Sachin Tendulkar and the attacking strokeplay of Brian Lara. All we got instead was the emptiness of Allan Donald responding too late to a call from Lance Klusener in a World Cup semi-final."
So frustrating has been Batohi's inability to make any headway that one Cape resident vacated his vantage position at a local bar and made his way to the Centre for the Book. "Get that bloody stupid woman out of there," he told officials who stopped him. "Let me at Cronje. I'll do a much better job of getting the truth out of him." Many have also been playing jury via internet and phone-in polls. In one phone-in poll conducted by e-tv, a national TV channel in South Africa, approximately 85 per cent of the 12,000 callers who responded in a three-hour poll felt that Cronje should be forgiven and not face banishment. However, many do suspect Hansie has been protecting team-mates and possibly other role-players in the sport. "Is Cronje really the lone rogue in this scandal, or are there others, beyond Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams and the usual suspect bookies, who were at least aware, if not part, of his schemes?" wrote one scribe.