Recorded voice on tapes is Cronje’s

King told journalists before the start of the proceedings that anyone found to be withholding information would be prosecuted according to law.

“I have the power to refer such persons to the Director of Public Prosecutions,” King said referring to assertions by former South African captain Keppler Wessels that the commission would not be able to go to the bottom of the match-fixing scandal.

Probe no witch-hunt, says judge

CAPE TOWN: A Government inquiry into Retired judge Edwin King began probing match-fixing allegations against former captain Hansie Cronje, saying there would be no witch-hunt.

Cronje was sacked as South Africa captain on April 11 after confessing he had accepted up to $15,000 from bookmakers for providing pitch and weather information. He has denied involvement in match-fixing.

“There appears… to be a perception that this commission should somehow or other be used or regarded as an instrument of revenge for some sort of a witch-hunt which is quite emphatically not so,” King told a hearing room packed with journalists, sports figures and the public.

He invited members of the public to give relevant information to the commission and said a telephone hotline could be set up.

“I am going to be conducting an inquiry in the first instance of ascertaining the truth and any legitimate steps which may be taken will carry my concurrence and my support,” King said before adjourning the hearing to allow television cameras to leave the room.

International media flocked to Cape Town for the inquiry, but King has said no television cameras will be allowed to record the proceedings.

Cronje was not present when the inquiry got underway.

The disgraced National captain has lived as a virtual recluse since his midnight confession to South African cricket boss Ali Bacher that he accepted between $10,000 and $15,000 in cash from bookmakers based in South Africa and India.

“This is going to make sure we know what is going on in our sport. It will be a benchmark. We’ll come out of this with clear recommendations and proposals to ensure that this does not happen again,” Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour told reporters as he arrived at the hearing.

The inquiry will investigate whether the South African team received an offer to throw a match on their 1996 tour to India, and whether players and officials were involved in betting on cricket matches.

Probe vital for future of the game: Bacher

Johannesburg racing personality Neil Andrews was the first witness called by the commission to explain sports betting.

He was followed into the witness box by Daryll Cullinan and Derek Crookes. Cullinan is a senior member of the South African team, while Crookes was part of the squad which toured India in 1996 when the South Africans allegedly received an offer to throw a One-Day international.

Ali Bacher said the probe is vital to the future of the game.

“There is no other way out. We have got to be decisive and resolute to eradicate this cancer from our game. The revelations have shattered this country and that is still the case.”

Cricket officials from Britain, Australia and India are monitoring the Government-appointed inquiry, which some officials say could last several months.

An interim report is expected to be submitted to South African president Thabo Mbeki by June 30.

Cronje’s admission of accepting money came four days after Delhi police charged him and team mates Herschelle Gibbs, Pieter Strydom and Nicky Boje with involvement in match-fixing during a One-Day series in India. The four deny the changes.