Hansie Cronje, Match Fixing And Plane Crash That Left A Complex Legacy

Inside a wood-panelled annex of an Edwardian building successful Cape Town nan stricken fig of Hansie Cronje laic crumpled connected nan floor.

Away from nan flashbulbs, and nan media feeding frenzy, successful nan bowels of nan Centre of nan Book successful nan city's ineligible district, nan exhausted erstwhile South Africa cricket captain, clad successful a charcoal suit, had collapsed successful tears.

His begetter Ewie and relative Frans tried to comfortableness him. Hansie had conscionable fixed grounds to nan King Commission - nan enquiry charged pinch investigating match-fixing allegations successful cricket of which he was astatine nan centre.

Just nether 2 years later and some Ewie and Frans would beryllium pallbearers astatine Hansie's ceremonial pursuing his daze decease successful a level crash.

It is now 25 years since Cronje's life was turned upside down, and cricket was thrown into crisis, by a ungraded which rocked nan sport.

Cronje's story, re-examined successful Sport's Strangest Crimes connected BBC Sounds, is simply a riddle wrapped successful a enigma wrong an enigma.

Wessel Johannes 'Hansie' Cronje was calved into a sporting, and profoundly Christian, family successful Bloemfontein.

Cronje was knowledgeable astatine nan prestigious Grey College wherever he was caput boy, captained nan schoolhouse successful some rugby and cricket, and was earmarked for awesome things.

Ex-South Africa accelerated bowler Allan Donald, who was astatine nan Technical High School successful nan aforesaid city, said that moreover arsenic a teen nan young Hansie was a "a heavy thinker" who had "leadership qualities each complete him".

Cronje was appointed Orange Free State skipper aged 21 and nan batting all-rounder soon became a portion of nan post-apartheid South Africa squad which re-emerged connected nan world stage.

He was handed nan captaincy of nan Proteas successful 1994 and his astute strategies and calm assurance gave him a statesmanlike aerial arsenic he turned nan squad into a formidable world side.

Cronje besides forged a adjacent individual narration pinch president Nelson Mandela.

During a clip erstwhile Afrikaner politicians began to vanish from view, Cronje was 1 of those from that organization who filled nan vacuum.

Mandela singled retired Cronje successful 1996 for nan "excellent manner" successful which he "led nan nationalist team" astatine a clip erstwhile "sport had played a domiciled successful uniting our country".

Cronje was a fig who seemed to transcend cricket.

Former England batter Mark Butcher recalled Cronje was "incredibly personable, very charismatic, beautiful humble and had a consciousness of humour" disconnected nan field.

However, location was a darker broadside to Cronje. Especially erstwhile it came to money.

Good looking, and highly approachable, Cronje was a sponsors' dream and nan endorsements flowed. Yet Donald said Cronje was a "tight git" erstwhile it came to things arsenic elemental arsenic buying post-match drinks.

Cronje's frugality did not conscionable widen to not getting a information in, though. It bordered connected nan obsessive.

He would person free clothing and kit arsenic portion of a sponsorship woody pinch Puma but would waste immoderate unused items to younger players, alternatively than giving it distant for nothing.

During a stint playing for Leicestershire he whisked his woman Bertha distant for a romanticist break successful Paris but his sister said nan mates survived "on breadstuff and water" arsenic Hansie baulked astatine prices successful nan French capital.

That emotion of money meant Cronje was besides 1 of nan astir accessible cricket captains astir and he was regularly visited by people, peculiarly while connected circuit successful South Asia.

The remainder of nan South Africa squad would rotation their eyes erstwhile yet different alien would locomotion successful for a gathering pinch him.

It led to dealings pinch unscrupulous characters. In peculiar those progressive pinch betting, and location was an early portent of what was to travel successful 1996.

Before a one-off ODI betwixt South Africa and India, tagged connected to nan extremity of a Test circuit arsenic a use lucifer for Mohinder Amarnath, Cronje called a gathering successful their Mumbai edifice for nan players to see an connection of $250,000 to propulsion nan match.

It was rejected, but it showed really unafraid Cronje was successful his position.

"Bringing it up successful a squad gathering was suggestive of nan powerfulness and untouchability that he felt," observed South African journalist Neil Manthorp.

Fast guardant to Nagpur successful 2000, Cronje attempted to coerce South Africa batter Herschelle Gibbs and seam bowler Henry Williams into spot-fixing offences.

Both men agreed, but subsequently did not transportation retired nan instructions.

"I ever recovered it a struggle to really opportunity 'no' to him, you know?" reflected Gibbs.

"He was regarded successful specified precocious esteem and respected truthful much, and I ne'er erstwhile thought of nan consequences."

Both Gibbs and Williams were non-white players but suggestions it was racially motivated are dismissed by those who cognize Cronje.

Still, really was Cronje capable to manipulate his team-mates pinch specified ease? Manthorp said he was connected an "elevated platform" and "very fewer group were prepared to guidelines up to him".

"Hansie had rather a temper. He'd become, I think, accustomed to not being questioned," he added.

The astir infamous of Cronje's dealings pinch bookmakers came during nan rain-affected 5th Test betwixt South Africa and England astatine Centurion Park successful early 2000.

With nan Proteas recommencing their first innings connected nan 5th time Cronje - prompted by a bookie named Marlon Aronstam - contrived an unprecedented innings forfeiture for some sides to guarantee a result.

England skipper Nasser Hussain later compared his statement pinch Cronje complete what target his broadside would pursuit to nan haggle segment successful Monty Python's Life of Brian - Cronje instantly accepted nan fig Hussain asked for.

Cronje's innovative action to create a consequence connected what different would person been a dormant last time of a Test mostly drew praise, moreover if did not rather beryllium correct pinch everyone.

"After nan first celebrations I realised I did not acquisition nan accustomed euphoria that would travel a Test win," said Butcher.

"Almost instantly I knew why - it didn't consciousness we'd earned it."

Michael Holding, covering nan lucifer for Sky Sports, received "tons of telephone calls and letters" complete thing he said connected aerial during a commentary stint, having smelt a rat.

"I said if this crippled was being played connected nan Indian subcontinent, group would commencement talking astir bookmakers," Holding said.

"I conscionable knew thing was going connected and that was my full focus. I was fundamentally disgusted astatine what I was watching."

When Delhi constabulary released transcripts of recorded conversations betwixt Cronje and Indian bookmaker Sanjeev Chawlar successful early April 2000 it was met pinch denials from nan man himself and South African cricket officials, and wider disbelief.

Cronje was initially identified successful nan calls by a quirk of fate.

Pradeep Srivastava, nan lawman commissioner of Delhi's crime department, had been moving connected extortion cases and taken immoderate tapes location pinch him.

One of Srivastava's children had listened to a wire-tap cassette, near successful nan location hi-fi system, and asked his begetter why he had a signaling of Cronje's voice.

Srivastava's boy had watched a post-match question and reply pinch Cronje connected Indian tv nan erstwhile time and recognised his voice.

With nan nett closing, Cronje came clean.

At 3am connected 11 April 2000 he confessed to Rory Steyn, a South African information advisor moving for nan Australia cricket team, successful a Durban edifice wherever nan brace were staying.

"I walked into his suite and each nan lights were on," Steyn remembered.

"He had a handwritten archive and said 'you whitethorn person guessed, but immoderate of nan worldly that is being said against maine is really true'."

A period later, Cronje attended nan King Commission wherever he was offered immunity from prosecution successful speech for afloat disclosure.

During 3 days of transverse examinations, broadcast connected tv and radio, which gripped South Africa and nan cricket world, Cronje gave his broadside of nan story.

Or astatine slightest immoderate of it, fixed nan input of his ain lawyers.

He admitted to taking ample sums of money, arsenic good arsenic accepting a leather overgarment for his woman Bertha, successful speech for giving accusation to bookmakers and asking his team-mates to play badly.

But he claimed South Africa had ne'er "thrown" aliases "fixed" a lucifer nether his captaincy.

"To my wife, family, and team-mates, successful particular, I apologise," he said during a alternatively robotic reference of an opening connection lasting 45 minutes.

Cronje was banned from cricket for life, unsuccessfully challenging nan suspension.

Further investigations into nan truth of what Cronje said during nan enquiry were halted erstwhile he died successful a level clang successful June 2002.

Cronje had boarded a mini cargo craft successful Johannesburg which went down successful mountainous terrain amid mediocre upwind conditions while attempting to onshore astatine George airport.

Cronje, past moving arsenic an relationship head for a shaper of heavy-duty building equipment, was flying backmost to spot his woman astatine their location adjacent Fancourt Estate, a luxury play resort.

His decease was put down to weather, aviator correction and imaginable instrumentality failure, but nevertheless prompted conspiracy theories.

Former Nottinghamshire skipper Clive Rice, who played 3 ODIs for South Africa, called Cronje's decease "very fishy" and linked it to nan subsequent decease of Bob Woolmer, nan erstwhile South Africa coach who was successful complaint of Pakistan erstwhile he died.

"Certain group needed him [Cronje] out. Whether it was one, two, aliases 15 group that were going to dice it didn't matter," said Rice, who passed distant successful 2015.

"Hansie was nan 1 that was going to person to spell and if they could screen it up arsenic a level clang past that was fine."

Eerily, Cronje himself had predicted successful speeches, and written successful a magazine, of nan imaginable to "die successful level crash" because of nan "constant recreation by air".

Ed Hawkins, a master betting investigative journalist, dismissed nan conception that bookmakers were someway down nan incident.

"I've ne'er recovered immoderate accusation fundamentally worthy my clip aliases effort to motorboat a full-scale investigation," Hawkins said.

Steyn, nan information advisor called it "ludicrous" to propose location was a "conspiracy to execution him by bringing nan level down".

Cronje's ashes were placed successful a memorial astatine his beloved Grey College.

A procreation has now passed since nan erstwhile South Africa captain's murky engagement pinch bookmakers came to light, but his bequest remains a analyzable one.

His decease astatine nan property of 32 meant he was denied an opportunity astatine redemption wrong a athletics he felt truthful connected to.

For immoderate Cronje had been vulnerable, and had nan anti-corruption measures which came successful nan aftermath of his autumn from grace been successful place, his communicative mightiness person been different.

"In a infinitesimal of stupidity and weakness," Cronje himself said, "I allowed Satan to dictate position to maine alternatively than nan Lord."

Those adjacent to him felt that erstwhile nan slump pursuing nan King Commission lifted, Cronje's life way had altered people for nan better.

Cronje's relative Frans was nan shaper of a movie based connected Hansie successful 2008 which portrayed nan ex-South Africa skipper successful a sympathetic light.

In nan movie there's a segment wherever a young achromatic boy who had earlier ripped a poster of Hansie disconnected his wall is seen fixing it backmost together.

It was a metaphor for nan nationalist psyche which, post-apartheid, makes it "a batch easier for group to forgive" successful South Africa according to Frans.

Yet sports intelligence Professor Tim Noakes, who worked pinch nan South African squad successful nan Nineties, went arsenic acold arsenic to telephone Cronje a "psychopath".

"He fitted nan characteristics and it's nary remorse, nary conscience," he said.

"I understand that you can't make nan test without having decently examined people, but I conscionable saw capable grounds for it in, successful this man."

The rate Cronje should person been remembered for was nan number of runs he scored arsenic an inspirational captain, alternatively than deposits successful slope accounts successful his sanction successful nan Cayman Islands.

"I don't deliberation he was evil. I deliberation that's far, acold excessively beardown a word," said Manthorp.

"I do deliberation that he was a skilful manipulator. I deliberation that he was acutely alert of nan powerfulness and power that he had."

For those extracurricular nan country, particularly successful a athletics for illustration cricket pinch its expected civilized compass, it is possibly moreover much difficult to abstracted nan man from nan crimes.

"I deliberation that Hansie is simply a villain successful this story," Butcher added. "He mightiness not beryllium the villain, but he's surely a villain."

The afloat six-part bid of 'Sport's Strangest Crimes - Hansie Cronje: Fall From Grace' is available connected BBC Sounds.