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Hansie Cronje's statement before the Judge Edwin King Commission

TERM OF REFERENCE A2: RECEIPT OR PROMISES OF PAYMENT

22. The facts which I recall in respect of this term of reference are set out below.

The Centurion Test

23. The fifth test match between England and South Africa was held at Centurion Park from the 14th to the 18th of January 2000. Play commenced but was interrupted by protracted rain and it became clear that it would play out to a draw. The match in itself was not significant, as the series had already been won.

24. On the fourth day during the rain interruption, a meeting was held between me, Nasser Hussein (the English captain), Dr Ali Bacher, the match umpires and the match referee in the library of the Northern Titans. Dr Bacher was anxious to save the game as a spectacle. There was pressure to turn it into a One Day International, but this was apparently not possible because of a clash of sponsors (Test Matches and the One-Day Internationals have different sponsors).

25. Thereafter, on the evening of the fourth day, I received a call on my cellphone. The caller identified himself as Marlin Aronstam. (I am not sure of the spelling) I do not know where he got my cellphone number and I had not previously heard of or spoken to him.

26. We chatted for a while. Marlin said that he was a cricket lover and wanted to see action on the field. He said that my image as a captain was poor and that I was being perceived as a conservative and negative captain. We also spoke about my recent form, which had not been good: I had had two ducks in a row. Marlin urged me to speak to Nasser Hussein, the English captain, about an early declaration to make a contest of it, saying this would be good both for me and for cricket. This is something which is often done, for example, in county cricket in which each side forfeits one innings. It had never before been done in a test match.

27. Marlin revealed that he was involved with NSI, a listed company, which I now know to be involved in sports betting. I did not know this at the time and only became aware of it in April of this year.

28. Marlin said that if we declared and made a game of it he would give R500000 to a charity of my choice and would also give me a gift. We did not discuss either which charity or what the gift would be. He asked whether we could meet at my hotel, which we did that night. He wanted to call Nassar Hussein, who was in the same hotel, up to my room. I refused because I did not want him to be involved. We spoke about cricket and the Centurion test. I was impressed by his knowledge of cricket. He said a forfeit by each side would be a positive move for cricket. He genuinely sounded as though he wanted to see a cricket contest and I was not asked to influence other players, to perform badly, or to influence the result. Marlin's suggestion seemed to make perfect sense from an entertainment point of view. It was nevertheless wrong for me to have entertained the offer of a gift for doing something in respect of which I was required to make an independent decision as captain.

29. Marlin had asked me to call and let him know if and when we decided to declare. The morning of the fifth day the question was raised and discussed by the respective team coaches and captains. The England team and management seemed reluctant, and I called Marlin and left a message that there would be no declaration. Play in the test was resumed, but about 45 minutes into the match I received a message from Nassar Hussein that the English were now interested in a competitive declaration. There were discussions between the two teams about a realistic target to be set, and once this was settled it was agreed that we would declare. There were mixed views within the team about the declaration. Some members were opposed and others were in favour. I think it was the correct decision.

30. I then sent an SMS message (an electronic printed message sent by cell phone) to Marlin advising that "the game is on" (or words to that effect). He subsequently told me that it had been impossible for him to get any bets on the game, as he had been advised too late to do so.

31. The match was a closely fought encounter with a lot of action, which made for good entertainment. Had Paul Adams not been injured during play on that day, we would almost certainly have won. Dr Bacher called me the following morning to thank me for saving what would have been a disastrous test. So did Mike Procter and Richard Harrison (President of Northern Titans).

32. After the game Marlin visited me at the Sandton Sun, where we staying, and gave me a leather jacket and R50000 in two cash amounts (R30000 and R20000) on consecutive days. I believed this to be the gift he had spoken of. He said it was in consideration of me giving him information in the future, but did not specify what this information would be. The R500000 which had been promised to a charity of my choice did not materialise and was never mentioned again.

33. I should never have entertained the discussion with Marlin and it was wrong to have accepted anything from him. It has only served to discredit what I believe was recognised as good move for cricket. i was not asked by Marlin or anybody else to "throw", lose or otherwise fix any results or performances in the Centurion test. The declaration was a genuine attempt to save the game as a spectacle, which was agreed to by both teams. i was also anxious, because of my bad form, to have an opportunity to gain public support. I truly believed that we could believe given the declaration, and requested Pieter Strydom to try and play a R50 on South Africa to win. He was unable to do so. The match delivered a genuine result and was in no way manipulated but that, of course does not justify my conduct.

THE TRIANGULAR SERIES

34. The day before the first one day international at the Wanderers, ie on 20 January 2000, I was approached on my way to the nets by an individual known only as "Hamid'. He had been a regular hanger-on around the team for a few years and was always handing out biltong for team members and asking for tickets. I have subsequently discovered that his full name Hamid Cassiem. He is known -- not by the players but apparently in his own circles -- as "Banjo" and runs a sweet shop in Johannesburg. I'm also aware that Hamid is a friend of Mahomed Azhardien.

35. Hamid said that if he had known that I was going to declare in the Centurion Park test he could have made himself some good money. My response was "why didn't you ask"?

36. At the beginning of February I travelled with the team to the Beverley Hills Intercontinental Hotel at Umhlanga. We were due to play the fourth one day international in the series against Zimbabwe in Durban on the second of February. Hamid was at the hotel when we stopped. He introduced me to a man known only to me as Sanjay, who he said was from London. I was not told he was a bookmaker and was not told he was a punter.

37. They indicated that Sanjay wanted me to supply them with information but did not specify what information. They also said I could make a lot of money if we would lose a match. I said I was not prepared to do it unless we were assured of a place in the final of the triangular series. I was spinning them along as I do not think I had any real intention of throwing a match. Sanjay handed me a cell phone box containing US dollars in case I changed my mind.

38. I did not count the money, which was kept in a filing cabinet at home together with my prize money from the World Cup, the Kenya tour, and left over subsistence allowances. It was subsequently counted (not by me) on 11 April, when I confessed to receiving it, and I was told that it was about US10000 but may have been US15000.

39. It is difficult to say with certainty which of the moneys kept in the cabinet had come from Sanjay because it was kept together with dollars derived from my winnings, allowances and advance payments I had received from players' signing on fees, deposits and travel allowances for what proved to be an abortive benefit tour to the subcontinent in April this year.

40. All of these moneys were handed over to the Reserve Bank through my attorney. I am told that they amounted in all to US10000 plus a further sum of about US37000. This sum of US37000 was made up i the following manner.

40.1 On or about 15 February 2000 I had received in advance US25000 in Bloemfontein as an advance on the payments due to the South African players participating in the benefit matches. |The payment was for the signing on fees, the deposit and the travel costs of the players. I annex a certificate from the promoter who arranged the series. The payment was made in Bloemfontein in cash.

40.2 The balance of the dollars was the residue of my World Cup and Kenya winnings and sustenance allowances which I would have converted to dollars. It may also have included dollars left over from previous tours and overseas trips. 41. It was not initially my intention to throw any games or to fix results: driven by greed and stupidly, and the lure of easy money. I thought that I could feed Sanjay information and keep the money without having to do anything to influence matches. In fact there was no manipulation of games or results in South Africa, and I supplied no information in respect of the matches in South Africa.

42. I realize now that the purpose of the payment was to "hook" me for the Indian tour. As set out below, on the Indian tour in February and March 2000. I was increasingly pushed to manipulate results, and found that I had got into something from which it was very difficult to get out.

The Indian Tour.

43. In India I was contacted by Sanjay who gave me a local sim-card so that he would call me for information and which would also be helpful for internet connectivity and e-mails. This was not compatible with my cellphone and could not be used. I later received a cellphone, sent up to my room, with which it was compatible.

44. I initially had no intention of involving other players and thought that I could satisfy Sanjay by accurately forecasting outcomes. Sanjay was not satisfied with this, and pressured me to speak to some of the other players to manipulate results. In the build-up to the tests, the pressure on me increased. I received calls on a regular basis from Hamid and Sanjay. Even when the cellphone was switched off, calls would come through to my room as late as 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning. I felt increasingly trapped. I had already taken money from Sanjay and it became increasingly difficult to resist his requests to speak to other team members and manipulate results.

45. During the Indian tour Marlin also phoned on a few occasions to encourage the team to win and to congratulate us on wins but, apart from general discussion, did not request information or offer me anything.

46. I spoke to Pieter Strydom before the first test in India. His account of this discussion, contained in his written statement to the Commission, is correct. At the time of speaking to him I was already racked with guilt, and his remarks about doing his best for South Africa shamed me and he in no way indicated that he was interested in receiving money. I did not speak to any other members of the team. Thereafter I tried to pass off the whole incident with Strydom as a joke.

47. Under further pressure from Sanjay I subsequently made faint attempts to approach other players in respect of the second test. I spoke to Kallis, Boucher and Klusener. Their rebuffs were immediate, but I think they thought I was joking. I did not approach any other players in respect of the test matches and the results in the second and subsequent tests were not manipulated.

48. I then told Sanjay that perhaps I could do something in the first One-Day International in India, thinking that if we could get the match out of the way that might satisfy them. My intention was not to involve other players, but merely to forecast which way the match was going to go, looking at the pitch and conditions. Sanjay was adamant, however, that this could not be done, so I suggested that I would speak to some of the other players, lying to him to get rid of him after the first match.

49. I ignored Sanjay and Hamid the night before the first One-Day at Cochin but when I was phoned the next morning and urged to go ahead. I told them we would lose and that I had spoken to other players (which was untrue). We were supposed to lose the match but I couldn't go through with it: I decided that I couldn't not try and would give it my best shot. As it happened we got 301/3 and I got 19 off 20 balls, but India won quite comfortably after Hayward was injured. I honestly tried to win the match, even at that stage, and believe we would have done so if Hayward was not injured.

50. When I got back to the hotel Sanjay was upset because we had scored too many runs, and I blamed the Indian wicketkeeper for three chances that he missed, obviously not revealing that the South African players concerned had not been involved and in fact none of them knew anything about it. I did not receive any money for that match. I believe Sanjay lost money.

51. Hamid kept phoning me and saying that I should speak to Sanjay, who was now worse off than before, that he needed to win some money, and that I would have to deliver something. So intense had the incessant nagging become that I was pressured to fabricate a story that the players were angry with me for not getting their money. He said not to worry, he would make up for it during the rest of the One-Day series. However, no other players and none of the One-Day matches were involved, except for discussions with Gibbs and Williams in respect of the fifth One-Day International which I will deal with in due course.

52. During the second, third and fourth One-Day games I was really only forecasting what I thought would happen, as I wanted to win the series. I received no money and tried my best throughout.

53. The pressure on me to produce information and results was increasing. I was not only being repeatedly phoned by Hamid but also by Sanjay. I tried to deal with this by lying about having spoken to players and done things which I had not in fact done. I cannot recall all the names that I mentioned and I cannot remember all the figures and amounts.

54. I cannot recall all the conversations, the times and dates, and what was said on each occasion. Also, a great deal of what I told Sanjay was untruthful, particularly about the involvement of other players.

54.1 Prior to the third One-Day International, I had untruthfully told Sanjay that Boje, Strydom and Gibbs were involved. He therefore wanted to know if they would be playing in the third One-Day international and if further players could be involved. The first portion of Annexure BAW2 to Wilkinson-Lucks Statement, if it is an accurate transcript, probably concerns this conversation.

54.2 A discussion with Sanjay took place the night before the 5th One-Day International, during which we discussed Gibbs' score, a total of 270 runs and Williams' bowling figures. If the results were as agreed, Sanjay was to pay US140000 into my NatWest Bank account.

54.3 Since playing for Leicestershire in 1995, I have had a bank account at NatWest Bank, Granby Street, Leicester. This was used for my foreign earnings.

55. None of the results, including the fifth One-Day International at Nagpur on 19 March 2000, dealt with below, were fixed. No money changed hands in respect of any of the matches in India, all of which were a true result. That applies also to the fifth One-Day game, despite the earlier agreement to manipulate the result.

56. By the end of the tour I was under severe pressure to provide some results, and my attempts to string Sanjay along were no longer effective. He and Hamid had become increasingly upset by the fact that I had not delivered the required results, in consequence of which they had been losing more and more money.

57. The morning of the fifth One-Day match at Nagpur Sanjay phoned me and urged me to go ahead with fixing the match, and I gave in. I told him that I would go ahead. I was required to ensure that Gibbs would score less than 20 runs, that Williams would bowl poorly and go for more than 50 runs during his 10 overs, and that the total score should be no more than 270 runs. I was to be paid for doing this. I spoke to Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams, as described by them in their testimony.

58. The fifth One-Day international was not fixed or thrown. Although it appears strange in the light of what I have already said, once we went onto the field we were not able to carry out the plan. I know that Herschelle batted as well as he could: the offer quite clearly went out of his mind once he walked onto the field and, in fact, it was one of the best knocks I have seen. He scored 74 off 53 balls, and Henry Williams, until his injury, bowled well. At lunch I told Williams that we must win the game, and that we should give our best. I tried my best, and scored 38 runs off 31 balls, before falling to a very good catch by Dravid. We not only scored more than 270 runs, but the total of 320 was South Africa's highest One-Day score against India.

59. While this does not detract from what I have done for the game, I do believe that once we set foot on the field, we would not go through with it and did our best -- as indicated by Herschelle's unbelievable run-out to win us the game.

60. I have not spoken to Sanjay since the Indian tour and -- apart from the money I received from him in Durban -- received no payments from him or Hamid. After The Indian Tour.

61. After the 2000 Indian tour, whilst I was in Dubai for the Sharjah Cup in March of this year, I was again contacted by Hamid. He indicated that Sanjay wished to resume contact with me, along the same lines as in India. I had by now developed sufficient resolve to put it all behind me, and told him that I was not interested. I thereafter had no contact with Hamid after the incident described above until 7 April, when I telephoned him and told him that news of what had happened in relation to the One-Day games in India had broken.

62. Sunil was around and about during the Sharjah Cup, asking for the odd bit of information and news on the team. He never paid me, or offered me any payment or benefit, nor did I receive anything from him. I gave him nothing out of the ordinary.

63. The night before the final of the Sharjah Cup I received a phone call from a man, who did not name himself, who wanted to speak to me in the team's room about "a promotion". He enquired whether Lance Klusner and I would promote some of his products, and tried to set up a meeting for the next day. He also said that he was willing to give us US100000 now and US100000 after the match, if we would play badly. I told him we were not interested. This was never conveyed to Lance Klusener.

64. I apologise to the officials and members of the department of sport, including the minister of sport, for the embarrassment which my conduct has occasioned.

65. On the morning of 11 April I knew, and decided, that I could no longer live with myself or with the situation I had created. I wished to unburden myself. However, I had created problems for other people and players and it was not only a question of myself. I truly wished to protect those players whom I had compromised and found myself torn between conflicting emotions and responsibilities. I must however acknowledge that I was also activated by a measure of self-interest.

TERMS OF REFERENCE A4.1

66. As set out above and in the written statement by Peter Strydom, I attempted to place a R50 bet on South Africa winning the truncated fifth test against England at Centurion Park. The only other bet which I have made in cricket was during the World Cup, when I placed Sterling 1 on South Africa to win at 4:1 odds. GENERAL

67. I hope that my experience will serve as a lesson to all other cricket players and administrators. My only consolation is the knowledge that despite my inexcusable behaviour, South Africa has in fact never thrown or fixed a match.

68. I cannot exaggerate the level of temptation which is placed in front of a cricketer who is offered money for doing, or not doing, what can easily be presented as furnishing information. Once money has been accepted, even for what appears to have been something innocuous, one is compromised and it becomes difficult to turn back.

69. I think a serious effort should be made to educate and warn players -- particularly before tours to the sub-continent -- of the dangers posed by sports betting and gamblers. Most young professional cricket players have little experience of the hard realities of commerce and the gambling world. They are easy prey.

70. As long as there is gambling on sporting events -- legal or otherwise -- players will continue to be approached, pressured and tempted. I was wrong in succumbing and, worse, I encouraged others to be drawn in and to try and cover up. I do think it is important, however, that every effort should be made to prevent it from happening again. Team hotels, change rooms, and practice areas should be monitored to ensure that gamblers and hangers-on are nor afforded direct access to players. The players should be properly briefed and prepared about the risks and problems, so that they can deal with the inevitable approaches which they will receive and the cricketing authorities need to impose management procedures to try and address the problem.

Dated at Cape Town on this 15th day of June 2000.

Signed

WJ Cronje