Hansie to be cross-examined on Wednesday

Hansie to be cross-examined on Wednesday
M Subramoney

Cape Town, June 20: On the eve of the cross-examination of Hansie Cronje, who has announced his withdrawal from representative cricket having admitted to accepting bribes, there is speculation that the country's cricket chief Ali Bacher may also step down.

The cross-examination of the disgraced South African captain, originally scheduled to be done today, was put off by a day with the postponement of the proceedings of the King Commission of inquiry into cricket match-fixing to tomorrow. The postponement was to allow the high court here to decide whether the proceedings should be open to the electronic media.

The application, moved by national broadcaster SABC and a private TV station E-TV, argued that it was the constitutional right of South Africans to know the truth about cricket match-fixing.

They said the print media does not reach the millions of South Africans in the rural areas of the country. So far only the testimony of cricket chief Ali Bacher and Cronje have been televised live and broadcast on radio.

In his cross-examination now scheduled to begin tomrrow, Cronje is expected to be questioned about various aspects of his testimony including his allegation that former Indian skipper Mohammed azharuddin had introduced him to a bookmaker during a tour to India in 1996.

Azharuddin rejected the allegations as "rubbish" and said he would sue Cronje for defamation.

Meanwhile, speculation here is Bacher may step down from his post as the United Cricket Board Managing Director within the next few months in view of all the pressures he has come under in the match-fixing saga. This is the view of one of the country's top cricket commentators Gerald de Kock who was interviewed on National Radio today.

De Kock was asked about Bacher's future in light of the allegations against him that he had fixed a match during the rebel tours by a West Indies team to South Africa in the early 1982s. He has also been sharply criticised by India for claiming during his testimony to the King Commission that the match between India and Pakistan in last year's World Cup in England was fixed.

De Kock said Bacher had been in the game for a long time but recently he had come under a great deal of pressure following disclosures in March that cronje had been involved in match-fixing.

De Kock believed that Bacher might not remain to oversee South Africa hosting the World Cup in 2003. Bacher has not responded to the speculations, so far. (PTI)