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Cronje blames the deceit on the devil

South Africa's sacked cricket captain Hansie Cronje, who was fired in April after admitting that he took money from an Indian bookmaker to provide information, has blamed his actions on the devil.

According to the Mail and Guardian newspaper on Friday, the deeply religious 30-year-old, in a confession that has been handed to the South African commission of inquiry into the match-fixing scandal, said: "In a moment of stupidity and weakness I allowed Satan and the world to dictate terms to me. The moment I took my eyes off Jesus my whole world turned dark."

Cronje, who was international cricket's longest-serving skipper when he was sacked, wrote the confession to the Reverend Ray McCauley, the leader of South Africa's Rhema Church, after allegations surfaced that he had been involved in match-fixing.

Initially he denied any wrongdoing, but days later admitted that he had accepted 10,000 to 15,000 dollars for providing information and forecasts on matches during a triangular series with England and Zimbabwe.

A commission of enquiry, headed by judge Edwin King, was appointed in May to probe the scandal and is expected to hand over a preliminary report to the government by June 30.

The commission, which will start hearing public submissions next week, has confirmed that it is in possession of the confession.

Agencies