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Cronje's June 22 testimony

Commission of Inquiry into match-fixing and related matters

Held on: 22-06-2000

COMMISSIONER: Mr Fitgerald?

MR FITZGERALD Mr Commissioner at this stage ..(intervention)

COMMISSIONER: Before you start, just for your information, when the booking was made for this hall the Commission officials were told that today there was a prior booking which will mean that we will sit only until three o'clock this afternoon.

MR FITZGERALD: Thank you. Mr Commissioner at this stage I have no questions. The evidence of Mr Cronjé is consistent with that given by my clients. Should circumstances change and become necessary I will then request an opportunity to cross-examine.

NO CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR FITZGERALD

COMMISSIONER: Ms Batohi.

WESSELS JOHANNES CRONJE: (s.u.o.)

CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MS BATOHI: Thank you Mr Commissioner. Mr Cronjé I was very pleasantly surprised yesterday that you coped fairly well with the questioning and your memory was actually quite good, so hopefully we will have similar success today. Just bearing in mind what your psychiatrist has testified about, perhaps I at the outset should say to you that you shouldn't see me as being antagonistic because I think reading your statement and looking at particularly the last couple of paragraphs that you have there, I would like to believe that you and I have the same objective here, and that is to clean up the game and to make sure that this sort of thing, as far as we can do, doesn't happen in the future. But unfortunately before we get to that point there are certain questions that I have to ask you. Firstly do you still maintain that you received no money for that 1996 last One-day match in India that was changed from a benefit to a full international?

MR CRONJE: Absolutely.

MS BATOHI: And the second question at this stage do you still maintain that you had absolutely no dealings with any bookmakers or punters from January 1997, which would have been the end of the Indian tour of South Africa, until January 2000, during the Centurion this year?

MR CRONJE: Ms Batohi I said in my affidavit that I had contact with MK during the quadrangular series when we were staying in Lahore and he contacted me on two or three occasions in which I was very, very direct at him in saying that I am not interested in dealing with him in the future.

MS BATOHI: Yes, if you remember I actually phrased my question by saying that you had no "dealings" with him. I am aware of that contact.

MR CRONJE: Ja I am sorry. I just wanted to be complete, sorry.

MS BATOHI: Just your educational background Mr Cronjé, can you just give us a brief run-down of what your educational history is like.

MR CRONJE: I matriculated in 1987 from Grey College in Bloemfontein. I did a degree, B.Com with the University of the Free State from 1988 until 1991. I have never ever practised as a commercial man other than playing cricket. I tried to enrol to do honours with the University of Free State in 1992, but never ever - failed an exam because I never wrote one, and then also I tried to enrol this year for an MBL with the University of South Africa.

MS BATOHI: Did you in fact write any exams this year?

MR CRONJE: I wrote for exams between the period of April the - excuse me, May the 15th to May the 22nd, yes, and the results will be available on the 26th of June.

MS BATOHI: So it seems like your wife isn't the only brains in the family.

MR CRONJE: I haven't received the results yet Ms Batohi.

MS BATOHI: And clearly your record speaks for itself as far as your captaincy is involved, you were an outstanding captain, that's what everybody says, and the record, as I said, speaks for itself. Do you agree with that?

MR CRONJE: Ms Batohi I've said in my affidavit that in 138 of the matches that I was captain the team won 99 of those, and as I said to you, and I am not saying it to be kind to myself or to anyone else, but out of the 39 matches that we lost I made some mistakes in those games and I know that some of the decisions that I made in the other 39 matches was - led to our defeat. So I will put my hand up and say to you that "yes, I have had some luck and I had some fortune in my time, I was blessed with a fantastic team, but I also made some mistakes", yes.

MS BATOHI: By all accounts you were a very powerful leader, very influential on the team, would you agree with that assessment?

MR CRONJE: I have said on various occasions in media conferences that because of my age with Free State and with the South African side, I see myself as a democratic leader where, and particularly since Bob Woolmer took over the set-up, that we try and deal as much with the team as we can. Obviously when younger people come into the side then that is when you try and help them along as much as you can.

MS BATOHI: But would you accept that you were a very influential person in the whole setup?

MR CRONJE: I think I was part of a very successful setup, I was part of the management, I don't know how influential I was, I think maybe some of the other team members, or former team members will be able to help you with that.

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