(23 Jun 2000) English/Nat
Former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje broke down in tears in court on Friday after being grilled for three days about his involvement in illicit gambling schemes.
Hansie Cronje was axed as captain and instigated a massive sporting scandal after admitting to taking a single bribe from a bookmaker.
He has since admitted to accepting five separate payments totaling about 100-thousand U-S dollars from gamblers and said a 20-thousand U-S dollar deposit into his bank account could also have been in exchange for match information.
The revelations have rocked South Africa and the cricketing community.
Cronje has also confessed he had "an unfortunate love of money" and that greed had got the better of him.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I think if my wife finds another dollar she'll cut the other testicle as well."
SUPER CAPTION: Hansie Cronje, Former South African Cricket Captain
After three days of examination he acknowledged the seriousness of the situation.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I was very naughty. I must admit I got a huge fright when this whole thing broke. I wanted to cover up as much as I can as Mr. Gibbs and Mr. Williams testified and I wanted to make an arrangement with Mr Aronstam to cover up as well."
SUPER CAPTION: Hansie Cronje, Former South African Cricket Captain
Cronje had retained his composure throughout the 11 hours of questioning he faced this week before a commission investigating corruption in South African cricket.
But he began crying as he was excused from the witness stand.
He stumbled as he was rushed from the hearing room and an aide grabbed his shoulder to stop him from falling.
Cronje was warned he could be recalled for further questioning.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"What we saw today was the most emotional moment so far in the proceedings and so far Hansie Cronje looked fine, seemingly coping well with all the stress after 2 and half days of cross-examination but when he realised it was all over and done, with towards the end he broke down probably with relief that it was all over."
SUPER CAPTION: David Van Der Sandt, Sports Journalist
Last week, Cronje told the commission Johannesburg bookmaker Marlon Aronstam had suggested he make the early declaration to revive the game and in return Aronstam would give him a gift and make a donation to a charity.
Aronstam made three payments to Cronje totaling 53,000 rand (dlrs 7,500) and gave him a leather jacket.
The donation to the charity never materialized.
When Aronstam was due to take the stand he too broke down in tears.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Sport bidding in the UK has been going for a long time and is very big but it's a type of betting when you're actually gambling. Cricket in the subcontinent is not a gamble in exactly the same way a person want to buy or sell a rand or a dollar, that's how they're trading the game of cricket."
SUPER CAPTION: Marlon Aronstam, Bookmaker
Aronstam then testified that within an hour of meeting Cronje, the cricketer had effectively thrown a game.
The scandal broke after Indian police taped conversations Cronje had during the India tour earlier this year with Sanjay and Johannesburg businessman Hamid Cassiem.
The commission is to submit its interim findings to President Thabo Mbeki by the end of the month.
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