Cricketers show disbelief first, then disgust

Cricketers show disbelief first, then disgust
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

APRIL 12: The Wankhede Stadium press-box was a bee-hive of activity this afternoon as soon as news filtered in that Hansie Cronje had been shown the door after he admitted his `dishonesty' to the South African cricket board. An enthralling game of cricket -- the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Mumbai and Tamil Nadu -- was pushed to the background. Cricketers past and present witnessing the match reacted with shock and disgust to the development. Though the present bunch of cricketers were not willing to come on record, their bewildered expressions said it all.

The Mumbai Cricket Association went a step ahead and demanded the Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) come out clear on the allegations made by former Test all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar. ``Now it is time for the BCCI to take a firm decision and hand over the allegations levelled often by Prabhakar and Sunil Dev (Delhi and Districts Cricket Association secretary) to the official investigating agencies,'' MCA joint secretary Ratnakar Shetty told reporters. ``This should be done to clear the doubts in the minds of our cricket fans.''

Former Test middle-order batsman Dilip Sardesai, while upholding Shetty's stand, said: ``It is rather surprising to find about Cronje's involvement in the affair. We have to wait and see what kind of repercussions will be there. I feel the Indian Board should reopen Prabhakar's allegations and clear the whole thing once and for all.''

``I could never believe in the wildest of my dreams that such a thing could happen in cricket,'' remarked ex-Mumbai skipper and present selector Milind Rege.

Former Indian skipper Ajit Wadekar, who has also been the national coach and who chaired the national selection committee, was more emphatic in his response, saying: ``Cricket is the biggest loser in the process. From now on, every close finish would be viewed in a different angle globally. It was totally unexpected that the captain of a team (South Africa), which seemed to try its utmost on the field, is reportedly involved in such a thing.''

Even as scribes and television crews jostled around the arena to seek reactions from present stars Sachin Tendulkar and Robin Singh, the 1,000-odd spectators who had turned up to witness the match returned home without an inkling of the bombshell that had struck the game of cricket.