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Cronje's June 22 testimony

MS BATOHI: How would you describe your relationship with the UCB, particularly the management?

MR CRONJE: I think it will be very dangerous for me at this stage, Mr Commissioner, I don't want to get into a situation where I disclose my relationship with the United Cricket Board, I don't see how that will affect this Commission at all and I think it is very, very unfair for me to comment out of team meetings and out of the meeting room and the secluded surroundings of Dr Bacher's office. I think it is very unfair at this stage and I don't see any relevance. I am sorry to sound like I don't want to cooperate, but I think it is very unfair on the United Cricket Board and on myself.

COMMISSIONER: Well, if you could manage without that question Ms Batohi, let's go to the next one. If it becomes essential for your cross-examination, I will be prepared to reconsider it, having regard to what Mr Cronjé has just said to me..

MS BATOHI: As it pleases you Mr Commissioner.

Mr Cronjé, you have set out in your statement in paragraph 3, which has been amplified in evidence yesterday, about your first approach, but before I just deal with that, you were questioned yesterday by Mr Blumberg about when you first became aware of the problem with dishonesty in cricket and your answer I think was that it was a long time ago. I think I must just find my record, if you would please bear with me, Mr Commissioner, can you recall what your answer was there when you were asked when you first became aware of dishonesty in cricket? You mentioned two players?

MR CRONJE: I mentioned the names of Rodney Marsh and Dennis Lilley in 1981.

MS BATOHI: Yes, that is correct. But let's deal with more recent times, am I correct in understanding your evidence yesterday was that you first - Kepler Wessels was the one that mentioned to you at some stage in 1994 about the fact that this sort of thing was happening in international cricket, is that correct?

MR CRONJE: As I said to you that in the 1994 tour, during the last one day international, we as a team joked a little bit about the fact that we thought that the Pakistan team were trying to lose the game when they were 75/5, but as I said Ijaz Ahmed came in and destroyed that whole theory and I still referred back to that and thinking that how stupid I could have been to make such a comment, but it was definitely at a later stage as I tried to tell Mr Blumberg as well, made clear to me that Kepler Wessels was sitting at the same table in a mayor or a governmental reception we had in the capital next to Rawalpindi in Pakistan - I am trying to think of the name, but it will come back to me now - and he later said to me that he was sitting on the same table as Salim Malik and I think it was Mark Waugh that night, and that he was - later it became apparent to him that it must have been that night that the approach was made. He was the one that spoke about it, yes. I am not hundred percent sure and I don't think I said yesterday exactly when he made that revelation to me. MS BATOHI: And is this the first time that you had some sort of confirmation, if I can use that word, this sort of thing was a very real problem in international cricket? MR CRONJE: I think that was the first time, yes. MS BATOHI: How did you feel about that, at that point when you heard about this real problem in cricket? MR CRONJE: As I said yesterday I have a passion for the game and I have tried to play it as hard as I possibly can. I don't feel good about what I have done and I don't feel good about the fact that I know that there has been dishonesty in cricket and I can only speak for myself and for my feelings, and I think it is not good for the game. MS BATOHI: I understand what you are saying Mr Cronjé, but I am just going to get back to my question, at that point when you heard about it, and you realised it was a real problem in international cricket, what was your feeling? What I am trying to get from you is, did you think this is something that is disgusting, that we need to sort out or did you think well, you know, it is there and we have to deal with it or cope with it, what was your feelings when you heard about it at that stage? That is what I am trying to get at. MR CRONJE: I don't think I had an opinion on it. I wish I can say today that I directly felt "kick them out or stop it" or whatever, I can't remember that that was my opinion at the time. I wish it was. MS BATOHI: And then early in 1995, January, you say you were introduced or you were approached by a person by the name of John? MR CRONJE: That is correct. MS BATOHI: That was in Cape Town? When he - can you just explain, I think you mentioned yesterday that he had phoned you and said that he was a journalist, is that correct?

MR CRONJE: That is correct.

MS BATOHI: Did he phone you in your hotel room?

MR CRONJE: That is correct.

MS BATOHI: I know you gave some explanation yesterday about why you entertained this call, but can you just explain that again today, why did you entertain this call from a person that just claimed to be a journalist?

MR CRONJE: It was common practice for myself as a captain to respond to journalists' calls.

MS BATOHI: I understand that, but wouldn't they have to, anybody could phone you and say "look, I am a journalist and would like to come up and see you", wasn't there some sort of safeguard to guard against this sort of thing?

MR CRONJE: We had later introduced a system where you have to go through the manager, that wasn't in place at the time as far as I can remember.

MS BATOHI: Are you saying you could be mistaken about that? About whether that system was in place at that time or not?

MR CRONJE: I don't believe it was in place at the time, to the best of my knowledge.

MS BATOHI: Did you ask him to identify himself in any way when he came in to your room?

MR CRONJE: No.

MS BATOHI: Is there any reason for that?

MR CRONJE: I don't ask journalists to identify themselves when I go into a press conference and there are 30 of them or even when they come up to me individually. I just accepted their word for it.

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